She could have left me 'into the world': Samuel L Jackson credits wife for overcoming drug addiction

Samuel L. Jackson has credited his wife with helping him overcome his drug addiction.

The 73-year-old actor has been married to Broadway actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson, 72, for 41 years and they have a daughter Zoe, together.

Samuel has revealed that early on in their relationship he had been found 'passed out' as a result of drug-taking and LaTanya organised for him to be taken into a rehabilitation clinic.

He said: "The day that they found me passed out on the floor in the house or whatever I had been out of the bachelor party or something but she was doing a Mike Nichols play, when she called down and got me put into that rehab place.

"She didn't have to do what she did. She didn't have to call, you know, this friend of mine and get me a place in rehab or try to try to fix me. And she could have just said, you know, get out, whatever and just left me into the world, let me go and be whatever I was going to be."

Speaking about his addiction was affecting him, he added: "I had basically moved into the basement of our brownstone.

"I was like the troll in the basement, and every now and then I'd come upstairs and hover around to do something. I was addicted and being crazy."

LaTanya admitted that she 'felt like' leaving him during the incident, but felt as if it was her religious duty to stay and help.

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In a joint interview with this week's edition of PEOPLE, she said: "I would have done that. I felt like doing that. But I come from a very God-fearing family. So I couldn't do that. Because I felt as though God has spoken to me and said, 'Now, you can't leave this young man like this. So give him some help and then, if you feel like leaving afterwards, we'll talk about it."

Since overcoming his substance abuse issues, Samuel - who has starred in hit movies such as Pulp Fiction, Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe - has gone on to become the highest-grossing actor of all time, with his films having collectively earned over $27 billion (S$36 billion) and admitted that the help his wife had given him was the 'chance' to become who is meant to be.

He added: "I was given another chance to be who I was supposed to be. Like, she always said, you know that one of these days I was gonna grow into the man that I was supposed to be. And, you know, that was an opportunity to do that."