Kevin Hart has said he is “feeling good” as he made his first trip to the UK after a car accident left him seriously injured.
The US comedian and actor arrived at the London premiere of Jumanji: The Next Level with friend and co-star Dwayne Johnson, and told the PA news agency: “I’m thrilled, I am happy to be here.
“It’s absolutely insane. We have got fans on the roof, this is why we come to London, the reception is always warm, it’s always exciting.”
The Hollywood actor was a passenger in a vintage muscle car when the driver lost control, sped down an embankment and slammed into a tree near Malibu.
He later said he was “thankful for simply still being here” after he suffered major back injuries in the crash.
He shared a video in which he was shown lying in a hospital bed, being assisted by nurses and using a walking frame to stand up.
He is also filmed undergoing physical therapy lessons at his home.
Asked how he was feeling now, he said: “I’m feeling good.”
Johnson also shared the concern he felt for his friend after he learned about the accident in September, saying: “We were all worried about Kevin but, the truth is, the moment I heard that he had breath left in his body I knew he was resilient and a fighter and that he was going to come back.”
Hart described the process of development he has been on, saying: “You have got to get better, you can’t get worse. Everything gets better within time.
“I think I’m definitely learning a lot and learning how to be more polished and more professional, business acumen is growing and of course that is from the big guy, the good leader he is.”
Johnson continued: “We learn from each other, we truly do, we learn from each other.
“Kevin obviously has been a master at his craft for many, many, many years and also it’s crazy, he’s the biggest comedic rock star in the world, arguably of all time, even though he won’t say that because there are the Richard Pryors of the world, the Eddie Murphys and these OGs.”
The Jumanji film, a sequel to 2017’s Welcome To The Jungle, sees Johnson and Hart reunite with Jack Black and Karen Gillan for another outing, while Danny DeVito, Awkwafina and Danny Glover also join the cast.
Black said: “It was great to get the gang back together, its like a party on the set, it’s not really like work, it’s more like magic.
“We shuffle up the cards a bit, you had to. You couldn’t just go back in the room and do the same things, and we got a lot more new characters in the mix, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Awkwafina, we have got new locations, we went to the snow, we went to the desert, and I played some different characters, I stretched and bended.”
Jumanji: The Next Level is released in UK cinemas on December 11.
