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Oh, I love seeing myself on screen.
That was the one thing about being a young actor on stage
that I always wanted, I always wanted to see the plays
I was in with me in 'em, so this is
the perfect venue for me. I don't have one of those,
oh my God, I can't stand myself on screen.
I love watching my movies.
Samuel L. Jackson.
Few names ring as synonymous with the world of cinema.
An icon in Hollywood, one of the greatest actors
to ever grace the silver screen.
Hey, if I don't wanna see me,
I wouldn't expect you to pay to see me.
I'm a professional. I show up at work on time.
I know my lines, I hit my marks.
And I treat the other actors and the crew members
with respect.
With a work ethic like no other,
boasting a catalog of over 150 films, it's hard to doubt
Jackson's status as one of the most important figures
in cinema history.
I'm a college graduate. I'm a father, a husband, a son.
I'm a good person with all that. I'm a citizen.
I pay my taxes. I've never been arrested.
I believe in education. I believe in one's, you know,
treating man the way you want man to treat you.
Yeah, I'm a movie star- to you. To me, I'm just a guy
with an interesting job. You know, I don't wanna
cut in line in front of you. I don't wanna, you know,
lord it over you because you see me or I'm famous.
I'm famous because you think I'm famous.
From his badass characters
to his iconic use of the word,
Jackson has captured the hearts of film fans,
the world over. However, even the most iconic figures
have their struggles.
What are you afraid of?
Not going to work.
Why?
I don't wanna be broke again.
Just finished "Captain Marvel." Here to start another film.
So I'm a little busy.
She's right.
You are the hardest working man in Hollywood.
Nah, I just try to keep going.
Jackson got his start in acting in New York
with the Negro Ensemble Company,
a theater group set up to provide African American,
African and Caribbean actors
with opportunities to showcase their talents on stage.
I think I've always been a storyteller. I've always
enjoyed exploring other places
and things and
high adventure, which was the goal in the beginning,
I guess, to become the, you know, new Errol Flynn
in my mind, when I was a kid, I wanted to jump
from ship to ship with a dagger in my mouth
and sort of fight my way across the world.
But getting into theater and discovering how to explore
the human condition that there are, you know,
a lot of different stories to tell
and a lot of different ways to tell them.
Experiencing the joy of creating something
that's believable to an audience. And once I was able to
sit in an audience and watch myself do it,
believe in myself while I was up there.
So it's just a burning desire to create.
The skills Jackson learned
as a young theater actor were invaluable.
Well, when I get the script or once they tell me
I have the job and I pretty much signed on the dotted line,
I sit at home and do all the things that I did
when I was a young actor in the theater.
I sit at home, I find out who the character is,
what his relationships are to the other people in the film.
I do a biography form. If I don't have any information,
I make up the stuff. If I have information,
I use what's there and create a whole person that I can use
that has experiences and brothers, sisters or whatever.
Yeah. And then I show up and kind of do it.
That was a certain point that this wasn't part of my goal,
I guess movie star or whatever,
that I had totally forgotten about it.
And I was immersed in theater
and doing all these wonderful plays
and I had done a couple of Pulitzer Prize winning plays
and worked with some directors that gave me insight
and how to go deeper into a character
and how to relate to the stories
and the people inside them in a different way.
That the craft became so important to me
that the result of the craft did not.
So that when this happened it was just kinda like, okay.
But you know, being able to figure out how to stay in it
is the difficult part. Getting there, you know,
a lot of people get a shot, you know, some people get
two or three, but you gotta figure out a way to stay there
and make yourself important to the product
and make yourself important to an audience.
And I think that's the most important thing.
Having carved out his position
as a theater actor
in the New York scene, Jackson found there was one thing
holding him back from making the transition
from stage to screen.
You revealed recently that
you had a stutter.
Have a stutter.
Have a stutter, still.
Yeah, I guess when I'm doing characters,
my characters don't stutter so I don't have to
worry about 'em. And it was funny 'cause
when I was talking about it last week, I realized that
I actually started to pretend to be people who didn't
stutter when I was very young so that I wouldn't stutter.
That seemed to be the thing that would work for me.
That I had to go back and stop and say, well,
where am I in the midst of all that? You know,
how many people have I created to cover this thing
to the point that maybe I've gotten lost in who I am
and I don't know.
So do you still have days when you are on set where you're
I still, oh yeah, yeah. I have days where you know,
some days it's B, some days it's P, some days it's G
and it all depends, you know? And I think probably
the worst one for me are sentences that begin with W.
I have W days a lot. So when I'm, so when the first thing
I have to say is what, when, why, or whatever,
depending upon the level of intensity
and where we're trying to go,
I'll get caught up with and it just gets me.
Despite his stutter, in 1989,
Jackson was given the opportunity
to work with one of the greatest directors in the world.
The King of Brooklyn, Spike Lee.
Can you see yourself still having
the same passion to do such a seminal film again?
To my last breath.
Important thing for me is that people are getting to express
themselves and getting a chance to
work in their craft
'cause that's something I've always been very mindful of,
is that I'm gonna work in my craft, work in my craft,
work in my craft.
By 1989, Spike already had two
successful titles under his belt,
"She's Gotta Have It", and "School Daze."
Jackson was given the chance to work alongside Spike
for the first time when he was cast for the role
of Mister Señor Love Daddy in "Do the Right Thing,"
a film which severely underachieved at festivals,
despite its good reviews.
From what you're saying, it doesn't matter
to you whether one ever gets an Oscar or not.
Well, I've come to that point. I mean, before there have
been times, in Cannes, three times we felt we got robbed.
In Cannes?
In Cannes, "She's Gotta Have It",
"Do the Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever."
And we felt we deserve
the best picture with "Do the Right Thing."
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up.
Up you wake, up you wake, up you wake, up you wake.
This is Mister Señor Love Daddy, your voice of choice.
The world's only 12 hour strong man on the air,
here on We Love Radio 108 FM, the last on your dial,
but first in your hearts. And that's the truth, Ruth,
here I am. Am I here? You know it, it you know,
this is Mister Señor Love Daddy doing the nasty
to your ears. Your ears to the nasty, eyes only play
the platters that matter. The matters they platter.
And that's the truth, Ruth.
Although the film didn't receive
festival awards, it left a lasting impact on those
that watched, helping Jackson to solidify his name
as a screen actor.
All those people lived together in Brooklyn.
No really lived together and coexisted so that, you know,
that film made a statement in New York
at a very critical time.
He filmed what he knew and what he felt
through the circumstances where he lived,
but because it was a microcosm of so much
of the rest of the country and the world.
People thought it was so incendiary.
It wasn't that incendiary. But he really did kind of break,
you know, open doors to lots of different, like filmmakers.
Black films that black people and white people will go see.
In 1988, Spike says he wanted an anthem,
so in the winter of '88 while being on tour,
I created the song and I was very surprised
how Spike fitted that into the movie.
I've seen a movie about eight times. In the movie
he said, wake up, you know, stop and, you know, Radio Raheem
and whatnot. It was just showing that
there's a different way and it's something you could take
into all aspects of your life. There's always a different,
more positive way, productive way to handle our problems.
I knew one thing that it did, it motivated conversation
whether pro or con. People spoke about whether they hated it
or loved it. And I suppose that's what makes
an important movie. And I think that's what directors
and actors hopefully are hoping for.
The cultural impact left by
"Do the Right Thing" opened up a wealth of opportunities
for Jackson. Even if there were only small roles.
Jackson's next film, "Sea of Love,"
gave him the chance to work alongside Al Pacino.
This was the first time in his career
he was working alongside a big Hollywood star.
Despite the experience gained on set, Jackson's small role
was credited only as "Black guy" as he struggled
to establish himself in a leading role.
In the 1990 film "Betsy's Wedding,"
Jackson was credited as "Taxi Dispatcher".
And in "The Exorcist III," Jackson's credit was simply
"Dream Blind Man."
However, the hard work paid off, when in 1990,
Jackson was cast to work with one of the greatest directors
of all time with a number of already successful titles,
including "Mean Streets," "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull,"
and "The Last Temptation of Christ."
By 1990, Scorsese had already established himself
as one of the greatest directors of our generation.
Well, he is a kind of icon. I mean, he is the star really.
You know, because he's Martin Scorsese.
He's amazing, man. He'd seen everything I've ever done,
which was really weird.
Films that, you know, like "Kitchen Toto" that
I don't think more than three people would have seen even.
Cinema.
For me, there's only one answer.
Cinema is necessary.
In the summer of 1989,
Scorsese says he took on his biggest project yet,
the biographical gangster film "Goodfellas,"
a project for which Jackson was fortunate enough
to be cast in.
After the commercial success of "Goodfellas"
grossing over 46.8 million domestically,
Jackson was well on his way to becoming
a leading Hollywood actor. However, like the characters
in the film, Jackson, too, had his demons.
I don't wanna be broke again.
Be broke again. Broke again, broke again.
We will also be armed and we will have rams
to take down doors when we have the proper search warrant.
And we have our informants
and we have our undercover operatives.
And we will go wherever crack is being sold.
This has reached epidemic proportions.
It is a crack epidemic which police say
is causing an increase in murder and other violent crime,
an epidemic with no end in sight.
It's attractive to kids. It's attractive
to a larger universe of people.
You don't have to shoot it into your arms,
so those people who are reluctant to put needles
into their body can be drawn in.
With the crack cocaine epidemic
raging through America, nobody was immune.
And despite his early success,
heroin, and later crack cocaine,
became the norm for Jackson.
And a recent survey shows
that over half those arrested for all crimes
will now test positive for cocaine.
Having acted on drugs his whole career
to this point, Jackson stated, "I was a drug addict
and I was out of my mind a lot of the time.
But I had a good reputation. Showing up on time,
knew my lines, hit my marks."
As a functioning drug addict,
Jackson's turning point came in the early summer of 1990.
While out for his friend Ruben Santiago Hudson's
bachelor party, Jackson took it one step too far,
stating that after the party he "went by the spot, copped,
went home, cooked the shit, and passed out before
I had even smoked it, drunk. That's when my wife
and daughter found me on the floor."
It was at this point, Samuel's wife,
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, gave him the ultimatum,
finish rehab or lose her.
The next day, Jackson was booked into a rehab center
in upstate New York where his road to recovery began.
Jackson spent 28 days in rehab, loathing every second of it.
By the end of the 28 days, Jackson was revitalized
with a new hunger and passion for acting,
he was ready to conquer Hollywood.
While in rehab, Jackson spent a lot of time on the phone
with longtime friend Spike Lee,
trying to convince him to give him the supporting role
in his upcoming film, "Jungle Fever,"
wanting the role of Gator Purify, a crack addict
whose habits tear his family apart.
Jackson's family and counselors believed
that handling drug paraphernalia
and discussing the joys of crack
would inevitably trigger him
and send him right back into his addiction.
Despite this, less than two weeks after Jackson left rehab,
he was working on "Jungle Fever."
Skinny and detoxing,
Jackson was ready to bring firsthand knowledge to the roll.
I made this one up just for you.
I paid a lot of money for these honey take, take it
for God's sake, please.
I pray for you, my son.
Father, I stretch my hands to thee,
Oh!
No, no!
No! No!
After filming,
Jackson stated, "When my character died,
it was almost like I was killing off that part of my life."
Jackson's performance as the crack cocaine addict Gator
in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" impressed the judges
at Cannes so much that they created
a Best Supporting Actor Award to honor him.
You know, I've been knocking around for a while
and doing a lot of different things and you know,
I had this running joke with my agent at the time.
I would call her and say, you know, did Hollywood call?
And she come, no.
And "Jungle Fever" went to the Cannes Film Festival
and they created a special performance award for me
that's never been given to anybody else.
And all of a sudden, Hollywood was calling and you know,
everything changed.
I got into doing bigger and better films.
Refreshed and revitalized,
Jackson was ready to conquer Hollywood.
Taking on his first lead roles in 1993,
playing an LA cop in the comedy "Loaded Weapon"
and acting alongside Nicholas Cage in "Amos & Andrew".
In 1993, Jackson was once again given the chance
to work alongside one of the greatest directors
of our generation, Quentin Tarantino,
HBO. Can you tell us what it's like
to work with Quentin Tarantino?
Very relaxed, very untraditional,
open to new ideas,
open improvisations, fun.
Having already released a box office success
"Reservoir Dogs" a year previous,
Tarantino was one of the most talked about directors
in the world, revolutionizing independent cinema.
What an amazing performance
and an amazing character.
Some great lines you had to work with.
Right? To consider.
Who wrote the lines?
I didn't.
Who wrote the part? I didn't.
Who wrote the story? I didn't.
So that puts things in the proper perspective.
In 1993, Jackson was cast to play
the role of Big Don
in the Quentin Tarantino screenplay "True Romance,"
a film with a star studded cast
like nothing Jackson had worked with before.
It's when I saw it for the first time, I was like, God,
this is like my life.
None of that stuff ever happened to me.
But it was like, this is like my life done is a big movie.
It was just nutty. It was crazy.
Working on a film written by
Tarantino allowed Jackson
to establish a relationship with the director,
a relationship that would prove fruitful for both.
In 1992, off the back of the success of "Reservoir Dogs"
and "True Romance," Tarantino began to write
his next screenplay, "Pulp Fiction,"
a film that would go on to earn cult status
as one of the most significant films of its generation,
earning nearly $108 million at the domestic box office,
"Pulp Fiction" became the first independent film in history
to surpass $100 million,
putting Jackson's name in the spotlight.
Because when I told everyone
that I was interviewing you,
everyone just went "Pulp Fiction" and started quoting at me.
Yeah. Some things I can't quote back to you, obviously.
Yeah, of course.
Do you think that that's the film
most people recognize you from, or?
It depends.
It depends, yeah.
Yeah. There's a certain, I guess,
age group that identifies with "Pulp Fiction."
First time I saw it, I saw it on the biggest screen
I'd ever seen in my life at the palle Cannes.
At the film festival,
Bruce Willis and I was sitting in the front row
'cause we were shooting "Die Hard."
So we flew over and saw it for the first time together
and I was blown away.
And I knew immediately that the film was special
and that it would have a special meaning for people
for a very, very, very long time to come.
The role of Jules Winnfield earned Jackson
his first ever Academy Award nomination.
Can we talk to you for one sec?
No, you were great in "Pulp Fiction."
Tell us, how was the night?
Oh, I had a good time.
We had a great time. John and I presented.
We had a good time.
Good seeing all your, the first time for me. It was good.
What was the highlight of your first Oscar?
Gosh.
I guess going out there and presenting and being a plotter,
when people seem to receive us very well.
Being nominated for Best Actor in a
Supporting Role, Jackson lost out narrowly to Martin Landau
for his role in "Ed Wood."
Jackson was now one of the most in demand names
in Hollywood.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Don't This one go.
Can you tell us what it's like to
work with Quentin Tarantino?
A lot of fun.
Quite a bit of fun, but everybody always wants to know
if I know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese
in France and "Pulp Fiction," you know, has this wonderful
quality about it that every year
I gain, you know,
somewhere between five and 10 million fans
because kids become of age
and they're allowed to watch it for the first time.
Or they've heard their brothers or somebody talk about it,
sisters talk about it and now they get to watch it
and all of a sudden they think it's the coolest movie
they've ever seen in their lives.
And I get a regeneration of fans,
so it's kind of alright like that.
Despite not winning an award,
Jackson's role as Jules Winnfield in "Pulp Fiction"
will be remembered as one of the most iconic characters
in film history, elevating Jackson's career once again.
Jules, your character in "Pulp Fiction,"
is the ultimately cool bad guy, isn't he?
I don't know, I guess he is to some people.
To me, he's just a character.
He was a guy, he had a job, he did his job a specific way.
He was a professional, he was good at his job.
He was not distracted when he was doing his job.
That's why John Travolta got killed and I didn't
'cause he got distracted.
The path of the righteous man
is beset on all sides by the
inequities of the selfish and the turret of evil men.
Blessed is he who in the name of charity and Goodwill
shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness
for he is truly his
brother's keeper and the finder of love too.
And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance
and furious anger
those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers.
And you'll know my name is the law
when I lay my vengeance upon.
After a successful festival circuit
which saw "Pulp Fiction" winning an Academy Award
for writing, Jackson's life was changing.
Is it going to change your life at all,
do you think?
I don't know.
You know, the last one changed my life
and it was very distinct kind of way
and my phone wouldn't stop ringing
and we had to change our phone number
and I went to a lot of strange, you know,
luncheons and dinners with strange kind of tuna with dry
and kind of tuna was dry
and the stuff they put on it was wet.
So my dietary habits changed very much.
I guess I might get another kinda script.
You know, things aren't gonna change that much.
It's pretty constant now.
You know, I get to read a lot of interesting things.
Hopefully I've been doing the kind of work
that people think of as quality work for a while now
and I don't plan on changing that.
If I could get more and more scripts
where the casting would be as colorblind
as some of the other things that I read,
that would be a good thing.
But right now, you know, the quality of the work
and the kind of people that I work with
seem to be a lot more important
than the awards that come along with it.
Despite his high demand,
Jackson's next films failed to impress.
Appearing in box office flops, "Kiss of Death,"
"Losing Isaiah" and "The Great White Hype."
With critics blasting his films,
Jackson found himself in a career slump.
However, although Jackson's performances
weren't to critics liking,
he appeared in eight films over a two year period,
keeping active in ensuring
he was ready for his next big break.
You are a busy man.
You seem to be everywhere.
Do you ever just say, wow, I need to take a break?
Or what's going on with your career?
No. A lot of people around me say that, but I tend to.
But you don't listen to 'em.
No, I don't. I actually tend to think I'd,
I get enough rest and relaxation.
Most times when I'm on location,
I have down days where I just don't do anything
but play golf and that's okay.
And when I'm home, it's a lot harder to work at home
than it is on the road.
But I'm not thinking about taking a break.
If I was to ask you about what you do
as an actor,
I want to ask you what you do when you're not acting.
What do I do when I'm not acting?
I watch movies.
Okay, when you're not watching movies?
What else do you do?
Read books, play golf.
A lot.
Although Jackson's schedule
is busier than all of his peers,
he has always found time for his second passion, golf.
I'm an avid golfer, let's put it that way.
Don't, don't you make
sure you get time scheduled
out of filming to have a round of golf.
I have a strange clause in my contract
that says I have to play twice a week
and they have to pay for it.
Why not? You have.
Yeah.
As well as having it written
into his working contracts,
Jackson has used golf to help multiple charity events,
supporting those that are less fortunate.
Just some of the celebrities
in this shooting styles benefit
at Wentworth Golf course,
which includes the likes of Colin Montgomery.
Lovely shot. Now don't go in there.
Jessie Metcal.
It's been rough for us all,
but I'll get it there eventually.
And Michael Bolton,
they're all here at the request
of Mr. Jackson or Sam to his friends,
who's hosting the event to raise money for charity.
We try and find people that enjoy the game
and get them to come and have fun with, you know,
just some guys that wanna meet 'em
and kinda laugh at the way we play.
Surely no one's gonna laugh
at the way you play.
They might.
I haven't played in a few days.
So plus, it's important that we give back
to the community at large and do as much as we can
for people who aren't as fortunate as we are
or people who have needs.
So what is it about this industry
that you love the most and that you hate the most?
Well, I love the fact that I'm able to choose the jobs
that I'm doing now and that I am acting
and doing that stuff.
I hate the part that's the politics
of trying to convince people that I am still the guy
that they need to put in their films.
You know, that hadn't changed very much at all.
In 1997, Jackson was once again
given the opportunity
to work with Quentin Tarantino when he was cast to play
Ordell Robbie in "Jackie Brown."
Well, it's always great to be on a Tarantino set.
He brings a lot of enthusiasm to the cast, the crew,
to the neighborhoods that we're working in
'cause it was his neighborhood
and he was anxious to show us, you know,
this is where I grew up.
This is Carson, this is the Del Amo Mall.
So it was great, you know,
just kind of being around and being fun
and he still listens to the stuff,
laughs out loud in the middle of a take
and you have to start over.
So it's just a joy to be there.
And the fun that we have consequently transfers,
I think, to the screen.
So when you watch it,
you're seeing people who are really enjoying
being themselves and having a great time.
Nothing gets between me and my AK.
And this here's the Chinese model
I get 'em for eight 50.
Grab that for me. Would you baby?
You know it's for you.
Girl, don't make me put my foot in your ass.
The AK 47 is the most popular assault
rifle in the world.
This is the Chinese model,
you can tell by the extra ribbing.
Hello, it's for you.
Jackson earned a best actor
Silver Bear at the Berlin Film
Festival for his role in Jackie Brown.
As well as the invaluable experience gained from working
alongside someone with the stature of two T]time Academy
Award-winning actor Robert De Niro.
Samuel L. Jackson was back and ready to take on one of the
biggest roles in his career.
In America, people were queuing for tickets
more than a month before the film opened.
"The Phantom Menace" took more than 60 million pounds in its
first five days. Following tonight's royal premiere attended
by Prince Charles,
the film opens in Britain tomorrow and will be showing in
some 500 cinemas up and down the country by the weekend.
I figured it'd be one little movie and that would be it.
And it just grew.
He thought he might well have a big failure on his hands.
And when the executives in Hollywood first saw it,
they decided that it might be better to cut it up and make,
make it into a children's TV cereal for Saturday mornings.
That's how much confidence they had in it.
With episode one, I said, well,
it's gonna be about a nine year old boy.
Everybody thought I was crazy and if I was doing it for a
studio, I know they would never have let me do that.
People were very nervous that it was gonna fail,
so it wasn't a slam dunk or anything, but it did.
You know that one did very well at the box office.
And then they've all done well at the box office.
So now I can put them together and say it's one movie and it
should be thought of as one movie.
It's got these wonderful special effects.
That's one thing,
but much more important than that.
Unlike a lot of the special effects movies these days,
it's got a lot of character and charm.
It's got characters everybody remembers,
it's got heroes and villains.
It's like a piece of mythology. And you know,
that's one thing Hollywood seems to have lost now.
They make these huge great movies with all state of the
art special effects,
but they forget about character and they forget about charm.
Well, George Lucas didn't.
This is actually phenomenal.
As advanced bookings go.
In 1999,
Jackson was given one of his biggest opportunities to date
a chance to work with George Lucas and be part of the global
phenomenon, "Star Wars."
Well, we always want to do things in our careers
that will be remembered.
And you never know what that will be or if that opportunity
will present itself. This is kinda like a guarantee.
So I'm really pleased to be a part of it.
But I had an opportunity to say,
"may the force be with you."
That's a great moment.
It's, it's something that, you know,
you never think you'll say.
It's something that when you're sitting in a theater,
when you're a young actor you wish for and it's like a dream
come true. So I'm really happy to be.
Playing the role of Mace Windu,
"Star Wars" would take Jackson's career
to a whole new galaxy.
Master Windu.
I take it General Grievance has been destroyed then.
I must say you're here sooner than expected.
In the name of the galactic Senate of the Republic,
you're under arrest, Chancellor.
Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?
The Senate will decide your fate.
I am the Senate.
Not yet.
Jackson went on to play Mace Windu
in three live action "Star Wars" films,
the "Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones,"
and "Revenge of the Sith" solidifying his name
in the franchise.
After the success of "Star Wars"
Jackson had put his name on
the map, appearing in multiple box office hits,
including "Kill Bill, Volume Two,"
"Coach Carter" and "The Incredibles."
It's fantastic. I mean,
Sam Jackson's one of our greatest actors alive.
So he, the world is, you know, in his, the palm of his hand.
Anything is possible for Sam Jackson.
Renowned by critics worldwide,
"The Incredibles" would become timeless
being watched by all generations.
That movie gets seen by people that have kids,
their kids get older, then their grandkids or their
nieces and nephews, whatever the,
the first movie was often in somebody's house
over those 14 years.
So in a way it was like the movie didn't go away,
like maybe a traditional movie might.
"The Incredibles" is a movie that gets reintroduced
when young ones are around.
Honey?
What?
Where's my super suit?
What?
Where is my super suit?
I uh, put it away.
Where?!
Why do you need to know?
I need it.
Uhuh. Don't you think about running off
and doing no daring do, we've been planning this
dinner for two months.
The public is in danger.
My evening's in danger!
Tell me what my suit is woman!
We are talking about the greater good!
Greater good? I am your wife.
I'm the greatest good you're ever gonna get.
"The Incredibles" would go on to make
631 million at the box office worldwide
as well as becoming Jackson's highest ever rated film.
Voicing the fan favorite character, Frozone,
Jackson's career had reached an all time high
allowing him to choose the projects he's most interested in.
Having acted across some of the biggest film franchises in
the world,
Jackson took a different path when in 2006 he took on the
leading role in David Ellis's "Snakes on a Plane."
There was no script. I don't,
I don't even know if there was a script when I,
when I agreed to do it, I,
I actually kind saw that a friend of mine was directing a
film called "Snakes on a Plane,"
and I emailed him to see what it was and he told me it was
poisonous snakes loose on a plane and, oh wow,
can I be in that?
He was like, you really wanna be in this?
I'm like, I wanna be in the movie.
So that's how it happened.
Well that's the, that's the thing. I mean the,
the title is what got me and I'm sure it's what got all
those people on the net that when you hear that name you
have a very clear picture of what that is.
We had to be pretty fast moving because the snakes
in this film are actually snakes that have been
sprayed with pheromone.
So they're pretty aggressive and vicious.
Kinda like snakes on crack.
Earning cult status amongst fans
months before release, "Snakes on a Plane"
saw an internet frenzy like no other.
Unusually for a new film.
And perhaps to maintain the internet frenzy,
no critic has been allowed a preview of the film.
Everyone, everyone has had to buy their tickets
and wait in line.
You could kind of tell that it was written on the internet
'cause it's pretty crazy.
It's the most unusual film I've ever seen. It's great.
You've got action, Samuel L. Jackson, nudity.
What more can you want?
It could possibly be a pheromone.
That's what female animals release a trigger mating
behavior.
It could also provoke serious hyper aggression like some
kind of drug.
Well that's good news.
Snakes on crack.
The film would go on to receive mixed
reviews from critics.
However, like most projects Jackson works on,
it has a timeless quality that has stood the test of time.
By 2008, Jackson was one of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Having worked with the most renowned directors in the world.
In 2002, Jackson gave Marvel permission to use his
likeness in their comic book version of Nick Fury.
Nearly seven years later,
he had signed a nine picture deal with Disney.
When you first got the call
back in the day for Nick Fury,
what was your reaction? Did you go, who?
I didn't get the call.
I kind of made the call.
Did you?
Well, yeah,
I was in a comic bookstore and I looked and knows my face on
this Nick Fury guy and him saying,
well if they make a movie,
I want Samuel Little Jackson to play me in this movie.
So I had to call my agent and my manager and go,
did I give somebody permission to use my image in the comic
book? They were like, what are you talking about?
And I told him and they called Marvel and Marvel was like,
oh, well, you know, we were hoping if we make these movies,
he would do it.
Yeah, I have an extended appearance in the Avengers.
I kind of bring 'em all together and we all kind of get into
it together and fight to save the world.
And you seem a bit of a badass in this.
A bit, Yeah.
You, you finally get to see exactly who Nick Fury is, yeah.
So you're gearing up your
obviously a spinoff, or Avengers, or, or what?
I had a nine picture deal.
I mean, you know, you got no more about the news than I do.
I got a nine picture deal.
Eventually I gotta make all nine of 'em
or they're gonna kill me. So I gotta make 'em.
I don't know what they are.
I'll be part of Downey's not gonna leave me. He'll be,
I'm not, I'm not in "Thor."
I'm probably in "Captain America" and you know,
so there's stuff coming in the Avengers.
The Avengers will eventually show up.
Okay great. Thanks guys.
Jarvis.
Welcome homes.
I am Iron Man.
You think you're the only superhero in the world?
Mr. Stark, you become part of a bigger universe.
You just don't know it yet.
Who the hell are you?
Nick Fury, director of Shield.
I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger initiative.
The success of the Avengers films
helped the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" gain the status
of the highest grossing film franchise of all time.
Meaning that Jackson had now played major roles in the top
two highest grossing franchises,
the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" and "Star Wars."
In 2012, Jackson took on the role of Stephen,
a loyal house slave in Quentin Tarantino's Western drama,
"Django Unchained." A film that wasn't short of controversy.
He wants that girl.
Stephen.
What the hell you talking about? Hm?
They playing yo ass for fool what I'm talking about.
They ain't here for no muscle bound Jimmy.
They here for that girl.
What? What girl? What? Hildy?
Yeah, Hildy. Her and Django? Them niggas know each other.
He he just bought Eskimo Joe out.
Did he give you any money?
No, not yet. But they--
Then he ain't ball didly.
Not yet, no how.
An absolutely phenomenal film.
I have to say, and I'm sorry to say this,
but I couldn't stand your character in the film.
Thank you.
Did you hate your character, too?
No. I love Stephen every day.
How did you even, you know,
go forward in kind of even,
you know, I didn't know, embracing him.
He kinda embraced the fact that Stephen's sort of the
freest slave in the history of slavery.
And he has a way of life that's kind of comfortable for him.
Slavery's been going on for a pretty good while.
He thinks its gonna go on forever.
So he's trying to find his way to be as comfortable
as he can in it.
And there's a lot of controversy surrounding this film.
Do you think it's justified?
No.
Amid the release of "Django Unchained"
critics and viewers began questioning the film's use
of violence and racial slurs.
Amongst those to speak out against the film
was Jackson's longtime friend, Spike Lee.
Are you very disappointed by
some of the reactions, Spike Lee especially?
Oh, I couldn't be happier with the reaction to this movie.
It's been fantastic.
It's good publicity I suppose. I mean--
Well, no, no, no, no.
It's, it's creating a nice debate.
Even the people who don't like the film
all right are actually the,
we're, I am responsible for people talking about slavery
in America in a way that they have not in 30 years.
You know, art,
art is supposed to stimulate, and create conversation, and
stir emotions, and hopefully this film's doing that.
And when people do that,
they learn things about themselves and about the world.
That's wonderful.
People have always spoke about your films
having a lot of anger and it's like, oh,
he just needs to sort of calm down now
he's just full of so much anger.
And then you get to film like this and suddenly
everyone's now looking back at your films and thinking,
actually what you were saying was making a lot of sense.
People are late,
but I will say this.
I don't walk around in a constant fit of anger.
And also if you look, if you just take,
"Do the Right Thing," "Malcolm X," and
the "Blackkklansmen,"
I mean those,
I've been making my fourth decade of film those only four
films. So I've been doing other stuff.
I have other interest.
But I'm angry.
So you can't be surprised by the controversy that's that's
come along with it.
Well, you can't,
I don't think you can actually make a movie about slavery in
America that it's not gonna be controversial.
My politics are my politics and
I don't use my politics on screen.
And I am who I am. I'm a product of, like you said,
the segregated south.
I remember when America had a apartheid, I was part of it,
you know, I was there, there were places I couldn't go.
There were things I couldn't do.
And they inform who I am,
but they don't inform how I act in the world.
I mean, I'm not bitter about that.
I just understand something about my country that
a lot of other people don't understand.
Well, violence is such a big part of your,
all of your movies and it's,
it's an enjoyable part of your movies for so many people.
And that, that's why I'm talking about this
'cause you know, it's a very sensitive time at the moment.
I mean, the Vice President is talking to people in the movie
industry today about violence and response to.
And you know, where I stand on it.
Which is that there's no relationship.
Yes.
But you haven't said why you think
there's no relationship.
It's none of your damn business what I think about that.
Well, it's my job to ask you why you think that
'cause you're very influential.
And I'm saying no.
He didn't, he didn't wanna talk about
the issue and he got pretty annoyed about it.
And you share a similar view to him from the interviews
that I've read and that you've said you don't think
there's any link between movie violence and video games
and real life gun crime. Is that what you think?
And if so, why?
Well, I grew up, I actually grew up playing with guns.
I mean, we had toy guns. We had toy guns.
Christmas was not Christmas,
if I didn't get a new toy gun, a cap pistol or something,
and we shot at each other,
we chased each other with these guns,
we did all this stuff
and none of my friends ever shot anybody.
We also had real guns in my house and I shot those too,
in the woods or at cans or at birds or whatever.
And we still never turned those guns on each other.
We understood what guns did to a human being
or what gun violence actually was.
We understood it very well.
I don't think one thing has to do with the other,
that sitting in a movie theater,
watching people shoot each other
doesn't make people want to go out and shoot other people.
Not people who are not mentally unbalanced.
I read books all my life.
Books have violence in them, even the Bible.
There's violence in all those books.
It's not just movies.
People need to understand parents have a responsibility.
It's not the government's responsibility
to make people better people.
It's your parents' responsibility
to make you a better person.
Despite the controversy,
"Django" went on to make over 425 million at the box office,
as well as earning both Tarantino
and Christoph Waltz Academy Awards.
10 years later, Samuel L. Jackson would be honored
with an honorary Academy Award of his own
for exceptional contribution to motion picture arts.
I guess, you know, that I have a achieved the goal
of creating a body of work that has resonated
not just among American fans, but you know,
worldwide and so international reputation
for being in films that people like to see
and doing characters that people remember, so it's worth it.
Yeah.
With a career spanning over 50 years
playing some of the most iconic roles in film,
Samuel L. Jackson has cemented his name
in the history of cinema.
The thing that happened for me
that really made a big difference was when Sirly Oli died.
I was sitting at home and they were doing his bio that day
and they put his face up on screen
and they started to talk about him.
And as they talked about him,
they morphed through all these different characters
that he'd done.
And I said, ah, that's what you need to do.
With a growing catalog of over 150 films,
few actors will ever come close
to the longevity and determination of Jackson.
Sam is like the coolest actor on the planet.
You know, he's the guy that comes along that says
like cool things that people come out of theater
and they just, like, if they become part of the lexicon,
they become part of the vocabulary.
From small cameo roles
to becoming the highest grossing actor of all time,
Jackson's conquest of Hollywood is like no other.
He brings a personal flair to his work
through his badass attitude and trademark potty mouth
defining his roles as Samuel L. Jackson characters.
So I started figuring out ways
of making each character unique, and then all of a sudden,
people started talking about the wigs I wore in films
and you know, I wanted them all to have their own face
and their own characteristics and personas.
Because I found a way to reinvent myself most of the times
that you see me on film that I take roles
that are challenging to me
and somewhat challenging to the audiences when they see me,
so that they'll accept me as somebody new
and not just Samuel L. Jackson again.
His wittiness, comedic timing,
and intensity are unrivaled,
paired with his ability to draw emotions from an audience,
And sobering scenes, make him one of the greatest actors
to ever grace our screens.
And with several productions in the pipeline,
thankfully we haven't seen the last of Jackson yet.
I travel a lot to promote my films.
I've been in a lot of different countries
and pretty well known wherever I go.
So I guess, you know, I've succeeded in creating something
that people are interested in and people do tend to go
and see my film and like the things that I do
or like the work that I put into.
So I'm pretty happy.