Samuel Leroy Jackson

**Samuel Leroy Jackson** (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and film producer.
He achieved prominence and critical acclaim in the early 1990s with films such
as *Jungle Fever* (1991), *Patriot*
Games*(1992),*Amos & Andrew*(1993),*True
Romance*(1993),*Jurassic
Park*(1993) and his*
collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino including *Pulp*
Fiction*(1994),*Jackie Brown*(1997),*Django
Unchained*(2012), and*The Hateful Eight*(2015). He is a highly prolific actor, having appeared in over 100 films, including*Die Hard with a Vengeance*(1995),*Unbreakable*(2000),*Shaft*(2000),*The
51st State*(2001),*Black Snake Moan*(2006),*Snakes on a Plane*(2006), and the*Star
Wars*prequel trilogy (1999–2005), as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.*

With Jackson's permission, his likeness was used for the
Ultimate version of the Marvel Comics character Nick
Fury. He later cameoed as the character in a post-credits
scene from *Iron*
Man*(2008), and went on to*
sign a nine-film commitment to reprise this role in future films, including
major roles in *Iron Man 2* (2010), *Marvel's The Avengers* (2012), *Captain America: The Winter Soldier* (2014) and *Avengers: Age of Ultron* (2015) and minor roles in *Thor* (2011) and *Captain America: The First Avenger* (2011). He has also portrayed the character in
the second and final episodes of the first season of the
TV show *Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.*.

He has provided his voice to several animated films, television
series and video games, including the roles of Lucius Best / Frozone in Pixar Animation Studios'
film *The Incredibles* (2004), Mace
Windu in *Star Wars: The Clone Wars* (2008), Afro Samurai in the anime television series *Afro Samurai* (2007), and Frank Tenpenny in the video game *Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas* (2004).

Jackson has achieved critical and commercial acclaim, surpassing Frank Welker as the actor with the highest-grossing film
total of all time in October 2011,[1] and he has received numerous accolades and
awards. He is married to LaTanya
Richardson, with whom he has a daughter, Zoe. Samuel L. Jackson is
ranked as the highest all-time box office star with over $4.9053 billion total
box office gross, an average of $69.1 million per film.

Early life

Jackson was born in Washington,
D.C., the son of Elizabeth (née Montgomery) and Roy Henry Jackson. He
grew up as an only child in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His father lived away from the family in Kansas City, Missouri, and later died from alcoholism.
Jackson only met his father twice during his life. Jackson was raised by his
mother, who was a factory worker and later a supplies buyer for a mental
institution, and by his maternal grandparents and extended family. According to DNA tests, Jackson partially
descends from the Benga people of Gabon.[8]

Jackson attended several segregated schools[9] and graduated from Riverside High School in
Chattanooga. Between the third and twelfth grades, he played the French horn and trumpet in the school orchestra.[10] During childhood, he had a stuttering problem.
While he eventually learned to "pretend to be other people who didn't
stutter" and use the curse word *motherfucker* as an affirmation word, he still has days
where he stutters.[11]

Initially intent on pursuing a degree in marine biology, he
attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
After joining a local acting group to earn extra points in a class, Jackson
found an interest in acting and switched his major.[12] Before graduating in 1972, he co-founded the
"Just Us Theatre".[5][13]

Civil Rights Movement involvement

After the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Jackson attended the funeral in Atlanta as one of the ushers.[14] Jackson then flew to Memphis to join an equal rights protest march. In a *Parade* interview Jackson revealed: "I was angry
about the assassination, but I wasn't shocked by it. I knew that change was
going to take something different – not sit-ins, not peaceful
coexistence."[15]

In 1969, Jackson and several other students held members of the
Morehouse College board of trustees (including a nearby Martin Luther King, Sr.) hostage on the campus,
demanding reform in the school's curriculum and governance.[16] The college eventually agreed to change its
policy, but Jackson was charged with and eventually convicted of unlawful
confinement, a second-degree felony.[17]Jackson was then suspended for two years for
his criminal record and his actions. He would later return to the college to
earn his Bachelor of Arts in Drama in 1972.[18]

While he was suspended, Jackson was employed as a social worker in Los Angeles.[19] Jackson decided to return to Atlanta, where he
met with Stokely
Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, and
others active in the Black Power movement.[15] Jackson revealed in the same *Parade* interview that he began to feel empowered with his involvement
in the movement, especially when the group began buying guns.[15] However, before Jackson could become involved
with any significant armed confrontation, his mother sent him to Los Angeles
after the FBI told her that he would
die within a year if he remained with the Black Power movement.[15]

Acting career

**1970s–1980s**

Jackson initially majored in marine biology at Morehouse College
before switching to architecture. He later settled on drama after taking a
public speaking class and appearing in a version of *The*
Threepenny Opera*.[10] Jackson began acting in multiple plays,*
including *Home* and *A*
Soldier's Play*.[5] He appeared in several television films, and*
made his feature film debut in the blaxploitation independent film *Together*
for Days*(1972).[20] After these initial roles, Jackson proceeded*
to move from Atlanta to New York City in 1976 and spent the next decade
appearing in stage plays such as *The Piano Lesson* and *Two*
Trains Running*,*
which both premiered at the Yale Repertory Theater.[19][21] At this point in his early career, Jackson
developed addictions to alcohol and cocaine, resulting in him being unable to
proceed with the two plays as they continued to Broadway (actors Charles S. Dutton and Anthony Chisholm took his place).[18] Throughout his early film career, mainly in
minimal roles in films such as *Coming to America* and various television films, Jackson was
mentored by Morgan Freeman.[10] After a 1981 performance in the play *A Soldier's Play*, Jackson was introduced to director Spike Lee who would later include him in small roles for
the films *School Daze* (1988) and *Do*
the Right Thing*(1989).[5][22] He also played a minor role in the 1990 Martin Scorsese film*Goodfellas*as real-life Mafia associate Stacks Edwards and also worked as a stand-in on*The
Cosby Show*for Bill Cosby[16][23] for three years.*

**1990s**

While completing these films, Jackson's drug addiction had
worsened. After previously overdosing on heroin several times, Jackson gave up
the drug in favor of cocaine.[24] After seeing the effects of his addiction, his
family entered him into a New York rehab clinic.[10][25] When he successfully completed rehab, Jackson
appeared in *Jungle Fever*, as a crack
cocaine addict, a role which
Jackson called cathartic as he was recovering from his addiction.[5] Jackson commented on the transition, "It
was a funny kind of thing. By the time I was out of rehab, about a week or so
later I was on set and we were ready to start shooting."[26] The film was so acclaimed that the 1991 Cannes Film Festival created a special "Supporting Actor"
award just for him.[6][27] After this role, Jackson became involved with
multiple films, including the comedy *Strictly Business* and dramas *Juice* and *Patriot*
Games*. He then moved on to*
two other comedies: *National Lampoon's Loaded*
Weapon 1*(his first starring*
role) and *Amos & Andrew*.[28][29] Jackson then worked with director Steven Spielberg,
appearing in *Jurassic*
Park*.[30]*

After a turn as the criminal Big Don in the 1993 Quentin Tarantino-penned *True Romance* directed by Tony
Scott, Tarantino contacted Jackson for the role of Jules Winnfield
in *Pulp Fiction*. Jackson was surprised to learn that the part
had been specifically written for him: "To know that somebody had written
something like Jules for me. I was overwhelmed, thankful, arrogant – this whole
combination of things that you could be, knowing that somebody's going to give
you an opportunity like that."[31] Although *Pulp Fiction* was Jackson's
thirtieth film, the role made him internationally recognized and he received
praise from critics. In a review by *Entertainment*
Weekly*, his role was*
commended: "As superb as Travolta, Willis, and Keitel are, the actor who reigns over *Pulp Fiction* is Samuel L. Jackson. He just about lights fires with his
gremlin eyes and he transforms his speeches into hypnotic bebop
soliloquies."[32] For the Academy Awards, Miramax Films pushed
for the Best Supporting Actor nomination for Jackson.[33] For his performance, Jackson received a Best
Supporting Actor nomination. In addition, he received a Golden Globe nomination and won the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Role.[34][35][36]

After *Pulp Fiction*, Jackson received multiple scripts to play
his next role: "I could easily have made a career out of playing Jules
over the years. Everybody's always sending me the script they think is the new *Pulp Fiction*."[37] With a succession of poor-performing films
such as *Kiss of Death*, *The*
Great White Hype*,*
and *Losing Isaiah*, Jackson began to receive poor reviews from
critics who had praised his performance in *Pulp Fiction*.
This ended with his involvement in the two successful box office films, *Die Hard with a Vengeance*, starring alongside Bruce Willis in the third installment of the *Die Hard* series, and *A Time to Kill*, where he depicted a father who is put on trial for killing two
men who raped his daughter.[38][39] For *A Time to Kill*, Jackson earned an NAACP Image for Best Supporting Actor in a
Motion Picture and a Golden Globe nomination for a Best Supporting Actor.[40]

Quickly becoming a box office star, Jackson continued with three
starring roles in 1997. In *187* he played a dedicated teacher striving to
leave an impact on his students.[41] He received an Independent Spirit award for
Best First Feature alongside first-time writer/director Kasi Lemmons in the drama *Eve's*
Bayou*, for which he also*
served as executive producer.[42] He joined up again with Tarantino and received
the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival[43] and a fourth Golden Globe nomination for his
portrayal of arms merchant Ordell Robbie in *Jackie*
Brown*.[44] In 1998, he worked with other established*
actors such as Sharon Stone and Dustin
Hoffman in *Sphere* and Kevin
Spacey in *The Negotiator*, playing a hostage negotiator who resorts to taking hostages
himself when he is falsely accused of murder and embezzlement.[45][46] In 1999, Jackson starred in the horror film *Deep Blue Sea*, and as Jedi Master Mace Windu in George
Lucas' *Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace*.[47][48] In an interview, Jackson claimed that he did
not have a chance to read the script for the film and did not learn he was
playing the character Mace Windu until he was fitted for his costume (he later
said that he was eager to accept any role, just for the chance to be a part of
the *Star Wars* saga).[49]

**2000s**

On June 13, 2000, Jackson was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018 Hollywood Blvd.[50] He began the next decade in his film career as
a Marine colonel put on trial in *Rules of Engagement*, co-starred with Bruce Willis for a third time in the supernatural thriller *Unbreakable*, and starred in the 2000 remake of the 1971 film *Shaft*.[51][52][53] Jackson's sole film in 2001 was *The Caveman's Valentine*, a murder thriller in which he played a
homeless musician. The film was directed by Kasi Lemmons, who previously worked
with Jackson in *Eve's Bayou*.[54] In 2002, he played a recovering alcoholic
attempting to keep custody of his kids while fighting a battle of wits with Ben Affleck's
character in *Changing Lanes*.[5] He returned for *Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones*, seeing his minor supporting role develop
into a major character. Mace Windu's purple lightsaber in the film was the result of Jackson's
suggestion;[5] he wanted to be sure that his character would
stand out in a crowded battle scene.[55][56] Jackson then acted as an NSA agent alongside Vin Diesel in *xXx* and a kilt-wearing drug dealer in *The 51st State*.[57][58] In 2003, Jackson again worked with John Travolta in *Basic* and then as a police sergeant alongside Colin Farrell in the television show remake *S.W.A.T.*[59][60] A song within the soundtrack was named after
him, entitled *Sammy L. Jackson* by Hot
Action Cop.[61] Jackson also appeared in HBO's documentary *Unchained*
Memories*, as a narrator along*
many other stars like Angela Bassett and Whoopi
Goldberg. According to reviews gathered by Rotten Tomatoes, in
2004 Jackson starred in both his lowest and highest ranked films in his career.[62] In the thriller *Twisted*, Jackson played a mentor to Ashley Judd.[63] The film garnered a 2% approval rating on the
website, with reviewers calling his performance "lackluster" and
"wasted".[64][65][66] He then lent his voice to the
computer-animated film *The Incredibles* as the superhero Frozone.[67] The film received a 97% approval rating, and
Jackson's performance earned him an Annie
Award nomination for Best
Voice Acting.[68][69] He then went on to do a cameo in another
Quentin Tarantino film, *Kill*
Bill: Volume 2*.[70]*

In 2005, he starred in the sports drama, *Coach Carter*, where he played a coach (based on the actual
coach Ken Carter)
dedicated to teaching his players that education is more important than
basketball.[71] Although the film received mixed reviews,
Jackson's performance was praised despite the film's storyline.[72][73] Bob Townsend of the *Atlanta Journal-Constitution* commended Jackson's performance, "He
takes what could have been a cardboard cliche role and puts flesh on it with
his flamboyant intelligence."[74]Jackson also returned for two sequels: *XXX: State of the Union*, this time commanding Ice Cube, and the
final *Star Wars* prequel film, *Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith*.[75][76] His last film for 2005 was *The*
Man*alongside comedian Eugene Levy.[77] On November 4, 2005, he was presented with the Hawaii International Film Festival Achievement in Acting Award.[78]*

On January 30, 2006, Jackson was honored with a hand and
footprint ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theater; he is the seventh African
American and 191st actor to be recognized in this manner.[79] He next starred opposite actress Julianne Moore in the box
office bomb *Freedomland*, where he depicted a police detective
attempting to help a mother find her abducted child while quelling a citywide race riot.[80][81] Jackson's second film of the year, *Snakes on a Plane*, gained cult
film status months before
it was released based on its title and cast.[82] Jackson's decision to star in the film was
solely based on the title.[83] To build anticipation for the film, he also
cameoed in the 2006 music video "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" by Cobra Starship. On
December 2, 2006, Jackson won the German Bambi
Award for International
Film, based on his many film contributions.[84] In December 2006, Jackson starred in *Home of the Brave*, as a doctor returning home from the Iraq War.[85]

On January 30, 2007, Jackson was featured as narrator in Bob Saget's direct-to-DVD *Farce of the Penguins*.[86] The film was a spoof of the box office success *March of the Penguins* (which was narrated by Morgan Freeman).[87] Also in 2007, he portrayed a blues player who imprisons a young woman (Christina Ricci)
addicted to sex in *Black Snake Moan*, and the horror film *1408*, an adaptation of the Stephen King short story.[88][89] Later the same year, Jackson portrayed an
athlete who impersonates former boxing heavyweight Bob Satterfield in director Rod
Lurie's drama, *Resurrecting the Champ*. In 2008, Jackson reprised his role of Mace Windu in the CGI film, *Star Wars: The Clone Wars*, followed by *Lakeview*
Terrace*where he played a*
racist cop who terrorizes an interracial couple.[90][91] In November of the same year, he starred along
with Bernie Mac and Isaac
Hayes (who both died before
the film's release) in *Soul Men*.[92] In 2008, he portrayed the villain in *The Spirit*, which was poorly received by critics and the
box office.[93][94] In 2009, he again worked with Quentin
Tarantino when he narrated several scenes in the World War II film, *Inglourious*
Basterds*.[95]*

**2010s**

In 2010, he starred in the drama *Mother and Child* and portrayed an interrogator who attempts to locate several
nuclear weapons in the direct-to-video film *Unthinkable*.[96][97] Alongside Dwayne
Johnson, Jackson again portrayed a police officer in the opening
scenes of the comedy *The Other Guys*. He also co-starred with Tommy Lee Jones for a film adaptation of *The*
Sunset Limited*.*

Throughout Jackson's career, he has appeared in many films
alongside mainstream rappers. These
include Tupac Shakur (*Juice*), Queen
Latifah (*Juice*/*Sphere*/*Jungle*
Fever*), Method Man (*One Eight Seven*), LL Cool J (*Deep Blue Sea*/*S.W.A.T.*), Busta Rhymes (*Shaft*), Eve (*xXx*), Ice Cube (*xXx: State of the Union*), Xzibit (*xXx: State of the Union*), David Banner (*Black Snake Moan*), and 50 Cent (*Home of the Brave*).[98] Additionally, Jackson has appeared in four*
films with actor Bruce Willis (National Lampoon's *Loaded Weapon 1*, *Pulp*
Fiction*,*Die Hard with a Vengeance*, and*Unbreakable*) and the actors were slated to work together*
in *Black*
Water Transit*before both dropped*
out.[99]

In 2002, Jackson gave his consent for Marvel Comics to design their "Ultimate"
version of the character Nick
Fury after his likeness.[100] In the 2008 film *Iron*
Man*, he made a cameo as*
the character in a post-credit scene.[101] In February 2009, Jackson signed on to a
nine-picture deal with Marvel which would see him appear as the character in *Iron Man 2*, *Thor*, *Captain America: The First Avenger*, and *The Avengers* as well as any other sequels they would produce.[102] He reprised the role in *Captain America: The Winter Soldier* (2014)[103] and *Avengers: Age of Ultron* (2015).[104] Jackson said in an interview on February 11,
2015, that he only has two movies left on his Marvel contract following *Ultron*.[105]

Among his more recent film roles, Jackson appeared in Quentin Tarantino's *Django Unchained*, which was released December 25, 2012,[106] Tarantino's *The*
Hateful Eight*,*
which was released in 70mm on December 25, 2015,[107] and Jordan
Vogt-Roberts' *Kong:*
Skull Island*,[108] which was released on March 10, 2017.*

**Upcoming films**

Jackson is set to produce a live-action film adaptation of *Afro Samurai*,[109] and is assuming the role of Sho'nuff in a
remake of *The Last Dragon*.[110] He will also star in the Brie Larson film *Unicorn*
Store*.[111][112] Jackson is featured in*Eating You Alive*, a 2016 American documentary about food and*
health.

**Television and other roles**

In addition to films, Jackson also appeared in several
television shows, a video game, music videos, as well as audiobooks. Jackson
had a small part in the Public
Enemy music video for "911 Is a Joke".
Jackson voiced several television show characters, including the lead role in
the anime series, *Afro*
Samurai*, in addition to a*
recurring part as the voice of Gin Rummy in several episodes of the animated series *The Boondocks*.[113][114] He guest-starred as himself in an episode of
the BBC/HBO sitcom *Extras*.[115] He voiced the main antagonist, Officer Frank Tenpenny,
in the video game *Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas*.[116] Jackson also hosted a variety of awards shows.
He has hosted the MTV Movie Awards (1998),[117] the ESPYs (1999, 2001, 2002, and 2009),[118] and the Spike TV Video Game Awards (2005, 2006, 2007, and 2012).[119] In November 2006, he provided the voice of God
for *The*
Bible Experience*,*
the New Testament audiobook version of the Bible. He was given
the lead role because producers believed his deep, authoritative voice would
best fit the role.[120] He also recorded the Audible.com audiobook of *Go*
the Fuck to Sleep*.[121] For the Atlanta*
Falcons' 2010 season, Jackson portrayed Rev. Sultan in the Falcons
"Rise Up" commercial. He reprised his role as Nick
Fury in a cameo appearance
on *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* in 2013[122] and the season finale in 2014,[123] and appeared in Capital
One cash-back credit card
commercials.

He released a song about social justice with KRS-One, Sticky Fingaz, Mad Lion & Talib
Kweli about violence in
America called "I Can't Breathe" which were the last words said by Eric Garner.[124]

Personal life

In 1980, Jackson married actress and sports channel producer LaTanya
Richardson,[130] whom he met while attending Morehouse College.[5] The couple had a daughter, Zoe (born 1982).[131] In 2009, they started their own charitable
organization to help support education.[130] Jackson has said he attends each of his films
in theaters with paying customers, saying: "Even during my theater years,
I wished I could watch the plays I was in – while I was in them! I dig watching
myself work."[132] He also enjoys collecting the action figures
of the characters he portrays in his films, including Jules Winnfield, Shaft, Mace Windu, and Frozone.[133]

Jackson is bald but enjoys wearing wigs in his films.[134] He said about his decision to go bald: "I
keep ending up on those bald is beautiful lists. It's cool. You know, when I
started losing my hair it was during the era when everybody had lots of hair.
All of a sudden I felt this big hole in the middle of my afro, I couldn't face
having a comb over so I had to quickly figure what the haircut for me
was."[134] His first bald role was in *The*
Great White Hype*.[135] He usually gets to pick his own hairstyles for*
each character he portrays.[135][136] He poked fun at his baldness the first time he
appeared bald on *The Tonight Show*, explaining that he had to shave his head for
one role, but then kept receiving more and more bald roles and had to keep
shaving his head so that wigs could be made for him. He joked that "the
only way I'm gonna have time to grow my hair back is if I'm not working".

Jackson has a clause in his film contracts that allows him to
play golf during film shoots.[9][34] He has played in the Gary Player Invitational
charity golf tournament to assist Gary
Player in raising funds for
children in South Africa.[10] Jackson is a keen basketball fan, supporting
the Toronto Raptors and the Harlem
Globetrotters.[137] He supports the soccer team Liverpool F.C. since appearing in *The 51st State*.[138]He also supports Irish soccer team Bohemian F.C.

Jackson campaigned during the 2008 Democratic Primary for Barack Obama in Texarkana,
Texas. He said: "Barack Obama represents everything I was told
I could be growing up. I am a child of segregation.
When I grew up and people told me I could be president, I knew it was a lie.
But now we have a representative... the American Dream is a reality. Anyone can
grow up to be a president."[139] Jackson also said: "I voted for Barack
because he was black. That's why other folks vote for other people – because
they look like them".[140][141] He compared his *Django*
Unchained*character, a*
villainous house slave, to black conservative Justice Clarence Thomas,
saying that "I have the same moral compass as Clarence Thomas does".[142]

In June 2013, Jackson launched a joint campaign with the charity Prizeo in an effort to raise money to fight Alzheimer's
disease. As part of the campaign, he recited various fan-written
monologues and a popular scene from the AMC series *Breaking*
Bad*.[143][144] In August 2013, he started a vegan diet for*
health reasons, explaining that he is "just trying to live forever",[145] and attributes a 40 lb weight loss to his
new diet.[146] He launched a campaign called "One for
the Boys", which teaches men about testicular
cancer and urges them to
"get themselves checked out".