Samuel L. Jackson likens alcoholism to cancer

Samuel L. Jackson has likened alcoholism to cancer.

The 'Snakes On A Plane' star - who has been open about his previous battle with alcohol and drugs - says he is under no illusion that those tendencies may return but insists he is "not planning on it".

He told Men's Health magazine: "I didn't drink yesterday and I'm not planning on it today. People treated for cancer might go into remission, but there's a chance it will come back. I feel the same about alcoholism. I still have drug dreams. It's hard because I understand the weed is really good now!"

Meanwhile, the 67-year-old actor previously revealed he was working the whole time throughout his battle.

He said: "I fancied myself as Oliver Reed ... I drank and I used drugs. I liked the feeling of not being cognisant of what was going on around me. I was working the whole time. I rehearsed and performed on drugs. I went on stage and watched people's eyes roll across stage and I'd go, 'Oh, I have a line, OK got to focus on the play now.'"

However, for him, the turning point came when his wife LaTanya Richardson and their daughter Zoe, now 34, found him passed out in their kitchen drunk and in possession of cocaine.

Recalling the moment, he said: "When I looked up, LaTanya and Zoe were standing there. The cocaine was cooked but I'd never smoked it. That was the first time LaTanya realised I was doing something that was greater than just smoking weed and drinking."

And whilst alcohol and drugs are still around him, Samuel insists his wife is not worried he will suffer a relapse.

He shared: "I hang out with people who smoke weed on the golf course, I've been in rooms with big plates of cocaine. When I was drinking nobody offered me f***ing Cristal, now I've got bottles of it in my house that people keep giving me. My wife doesn't worry about me opening those bottles."