Tracy Morgan feels like the "Gandhi of showbusiness".
The 47-year-old comedian was delighted by the "love and goodwill" he felt at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards – where he was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance on ‘Saturday Night Live’ – at the weekend, comparing the kindness he was shown to that received by the Indian civil rights leader or South African social rights activist Desmond Tutu.
And Tracy admits it was "magical" being back at the awards two years after he almost died in a road accident.
He said: "I’ve been nominated before but being here, I feel magical. I feel like the Desmond Tutu of showbusiness. I feel like the Gandhi of showbusiness, all this love and goodwill, but I just want to do my best to give it back through my sense of humour."
And the former ’30 Rock’ star – who was left in a critical condition after the crash in June 2014 – admits he is thankful to be alive and celebrates each day as it comes.
He told ‘Extra’: "It’s so nice to be here. And I’m not just talking about at the Emmys. I’m talking about alive."
Asked what’s next for him, he added: "Tomorrow. When I wake up in [the] morning now, I open up the curtains and I say, ‘The sun is out.’ The rest is up to me; I’m gonna leave that in God’s hands."
And the ‘Cop Out’ star’s wife Megan Wollover – the mother of his three-year-old daughter Maven – was equally thrilled to be on the red carpet with her spouse.
She said: "I’m just happy to have him alive and have him here is even more important."