Gerard Butler appreciates 'how precious life is' after bike crash

Sometimes it takes a near-death experience for you to really appreciate life — just ask Gerard Butler. The Hollywood star is a changed man after he emerged from a motorcycle crash with just minor injuries earlier this month.

Opening up about the terrifying accident at the premiere of his upcoming disaster thriller, Geostorm, the 47-year-old Scottish actor told Entertainment Tonight that he understands the outcome could have been very different.

Recalling the final moments before the collision, he said: "I was going along the road doing my thing and this lady decided to go from parked on the other side of the road to an illegal U-Turn and went right in front of me. I smacked the car, went flying through the air and did a somersault and landed – and it hurt a bit."

Stunned bystanders rushed to his aid after witnessing the painful incident.

"A lot of them watched that happen and they're like, 'That was you?!'" Butler explained. "So I'm sitting down and my feet are killing me and my shoes are ripped and [one guy asks], 'So, how's it all goin'?' And I [tried to say], 'Well I'm supposed to be doing an action movie in about three weeks.'"

He was rushed to the hospital but considering the impact, he was relatively unscathed. "I have five fractures in my right foot alone [and] a bunch of stupid stuff, a torn meniscus, but I'll be fine," he said.

The 300 star, who appeared in good spirits, admitted that the crash also "made me really appreciate how precious life is because I could have landed any number of ways that would have taken me out".

Back in September, Jada Pinkett Smith shared her near-death experience involving a motorbike during a promotion pit stop for Girl Trip. "I wasn't going to put a helmet on because I was literally going up the street with her and everybody was outside, I just got my motorcycle, she just got her motorcycle and we were about the mob, right?"

"I wasn't going to put a helmet on because I was literally going up the street with her and everybody was outside, I just got my motorcycle, she just got her motorcycle and we were about the mob, right?"

Luckily friends were able to convince her to wear a helmet because when she took to the road, a truck came out of a driveway taking her by surprise and she collided with the vehicle and fell off the bike onto her back. "Everybody is watching me," she said. "My girlfriend Tichina gets off her bike and looked at me and said 'you glad you put that helmet on aren't you?'"