Samuel Leroy Jackson 

(born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of

the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have
collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him the second highest-grossing actor
of all time.[a] According to a more recent rating, he is the highest-grossing actors of all time.[4] In
2022 he received the Academy Honorary Award as "A cultural icon whose dynamic work has
resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide".[5][6][7]
Jackson made his professional theatre debut in Mother Courage and her Children in 1980
at The Public Theatre. From 1981 to 1983 he originated the role of Private Louis Henderson
in A Soldier's Play Off-Broadway. He also originated the role of Boy Willie in August
Wilson's The Piano Lesson in 1987 at the Yale Repertory Theatre. He portrayed Martin Luther
King Jr. in the Broadway play The Mountaintop (2011).[8] He returned Broadway in the 2022
revival of The Piano Lesson playing Doaker Charles for which he received a Tony Award for
Best Featured Actor in a Play nomination.[9][10]
Jackson's early film roles include Coming to America (1988), Juice (1992), True
Romance (1993), Menace II Society (1993), and Fresh (1994). His collaborations with Spike
Lee led to greater prominence with films such as School Daze (1988), Do the Right
Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Oldboy (2013), and Chi-
Raq (2015). Jackson's breakout performance was as Jules Winnfield in Quentin
Tarantino's crime drama Pulp Fiction (1994) which earned him a BAFTA Award win and a
nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He further collaborated with
Tarantino, acting in Jackie Brown (1997), Django Unchained (2012), and The Hateful
Eight (2015).
He also gained widespread recognition as the Jedi Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel
trilogy (1999–2005), and Nick Fury in 11 Marvel Cinematic Universe films, beginning with Iron
Man (2008), as well as guest-starring in the ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..[11][12] Jackson
has provided his voice for Lucius Best / Frozone in the Pixar films The Incredibles (2004)
and Incredibles 2 (2018). He has also acted in a number of big-budget films, including Die
Hard with a Vengeance (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), Unbreakable (2000), Shaft (2000) and its
reboot (2019), XXX (2002), Coach Carter (2005), Snakes on a Plane (2006), Kingsman: The
Secret Service (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), and Glass (2019).

Early life
Samuel Leroy Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., on December 21, 1948,[13] the only child
of Elizabeth Harriett (née Montgomery) and Roy Henry Jackson.[14][15] He grew up
in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[13][16] His father lived away from the family in Kansas City, Missouri,
and later died of alcoholism. Jackson met him only twice during his life.[17][18] He was raised by
his mother, a factory worker and later a supplies buyer for a mental institution; he was also
raised by his maternal grandparents, Edgar and Pearl Montgomery, as well as extended
family.[15][17][19] According to DNA tests, Jackson partially descends from the Benga
people of Gabon, and he became a naturalized citizen of Gabon in 2019.[20] He attended
several segregated schools[21] and graduated from Riverside High School in Chattanooga.[13] He
played the French horn, piccolo, trumpet, and flute in the school orchestra.[22][23] He developed a
stutter during childhood and learned to "pretend to be other people who didn't stutter". He still
uses the word "motherfucker" to get through a speech block. He still has days where he
stutters.[23][24] Initially intent on pursuing a degree in marine biology, he attended Morehouse
College in Atlanta, Georgia.[13] After joining a local acting group to earn extra points in a class,
he found an interest in acting and switched his major.[25] Before graduating in 1972, he co-
founded the Just Us Theatre.[17][26]
After Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968, Jackson attended King's funeral in Atlanta
as one of the ushers.[27] He then travelled to Memphis, Tennessee, to join an equal rights
protest march. In a 2005 Parade interview, he said, "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."[28] In 1969, Jackson and several other students held members of the
Morehouse College board of trustees (including Martin Luther King Sr.) hostage on the
campus, demanding reform in the school's curriculum and governance.[29] The college
eventually agreed to change its policy, but Jackson was charged with and eventually convicted
of unlawful confinement, a second-degree felony.[30] He was suspended for two years for his
criminal record and his actions. He would later return to the college to earn a BA in drama in
1972.[31] While he was suspended, he took a job as a social worker in Los Angeles.[32] He
decided to return to Atlanta, where he met with Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, and others
active in the Black Power movement.[28] He began to feel empowered with his involvement in
the movement, especially when the group began buying guns.[28] However, before he could
become involved with any significant armed confrontations, his mother sent him to Los Angeles
after the FBI warned her that he would die within a year if he remained with the group.[28] In a
2018 interview with Vogue, he denied having been a member of the Black Panther Party.[33]

Career
Further information: List of Samuel L. Jackson performances

1972-1987: Early roles and theatre work

Casting black actors is still strange for Hollywood. Denzel gets the offer first. Then it's Danny Glover, Forest Whitaker,
and Wesley Snipes. Right now, I'm the next one on the list.
— Jackson discussing his new fame in 1993[32]

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.[22] Jackson began acting on the stage,
including Home and A Soldier's Play, which was the inspiration for the 1984 film, A Soldier's
Story.[17] He appeared in several television films, and made his feature film debut in
the blaxploitation independent film Together for Days (1972).[13][34] After these initial roles,
Jackson moved from Atlanta to New York City in 1976, and spent the next decade appearing in
stage plays, including the premiers of The Piano Lesson and Two Trains Running at the Yale
Repertory Theater.[32][35] To supplement his income while auditioning, he worked at
the Manhattan Plaza apartment complex as an overnight security guard.[36] Jackson developed
addictions to alcohol and cocaine, which prevented him from proceeding with the two plays to
Broadway (actors Charles S. Dutton and Anthony Chisholm took his place).[31]

1988-1993: Rise to prominence

After a 1981 performance in the play A Soldier's Play, Jackson was introduced to
director Spike Lee, who cast him for small roles in School Daze (1988) and Do the Right
Thing (1989).[17][37] He also worked for three years as a stand-in for Bill Cosby on The Cosby
Show.[29][38] Throughout his early film career, mainly in minimal roles in films such as Coming to
America (1988) and various television films, Jackson was mentored by Morgan Freeman.[22]
Jackson played a minor role in the 1990 Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas, as real-
life Mafia associate Stacks Edwards. Having overdosed on heroin several times, he switched
to cocaine.[39] His family entered him into a New York rehabilitation clinic.[22][40] After he completed
rehabilitation, he appeared in Jungle Fever as a crack cocaine addict. Jackson said that the
role was cathartic,[17] commenting, "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."[41] His performance
was so acclaimed that the jury of 1991 Cannes Film Festival added a special "Supporting
Actor" award just for him.[18][42] Following this role, Jackson became involved with 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.[43][44] Jackson worked with the director Steven Spielberg in 1993's Jurassic Park.[45]

Jackson at the premiere for Cleaner in Paris, April 2008

1994-1998: Career breakthrough

After a turn as the criminal Big Don in 1993's True Romance—written by Quentin
Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott—Tarantino asked Jackson to play Jules Winnfield
in Pulp Fiction (1994). 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."[46] Pulp Fiction, Jackson's thirtieth
film, made him internationally recognized and he received praise from critics. Entertainment
Weekly wrote: "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."[47] For the Academy Awards, Miramax Films
pushed for, and received, the Best Supporting Actor nomination for Jackson.[48] He also
received a Golden Globe nomination and won the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Role.[49][50]
[51]

After Pulp Fiction, Jackson received multiple scripts to review: "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."[52] 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 box-office successes, 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 played a father put on trial
for killing two men who raped his daughter.[53][54] 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.[55]
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.[56] 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.[57] He
worked again with Tarantino on Jackie Brown and received the Silver Bear for Best Actor at
the Berlin Film Festival[58] and a fourth Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of the arms
merchant Ordell Robbie.[59] In 1998, he worked with established actors: 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.[60][61] 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.[62]
[63]
 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
(though he later said that he was eager to accept any role, just for the chance to be a part of
the Star Wars saga).[64]

1999-2007: Established actor

Jackson's handprints in front of Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway at Walt Disney World's Disney's
Hollywood Studios theme park

Jackson at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival

On June 13, 2000, Jackson was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018
Hollywood Blvd.[65] He began the next decade of his film career playing 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.
He reprised both of the latter roles in 2019, his Unbreakable character Mr. Glass in Glass and
Shaft in another film titled Shaft.[66][67][68] Jackson's sole film in 2001 was The Caveman's
Valentine, a murder thriller directed by Lemmons in which he played a homeless musician.[69] In
2002, he played a recovering alcoholic, attempting to keep custody of his kids while fighting a
battle of wits (in Changing Lanes) with Ben Affleck's character.[17] 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;
[17]
 he wanted to be sure that his character would stand out in a crowded battle scene.[70]
[71]
 Jackson then acted as an NSA agent, alongside Vin Diesel in XXX, and as a kilt-wearing
drug dealer in The 51st State.[72][73] In 2003, Jackson again worked with John
Travolta in Basic and then as a police sergeant alongside Colin Farrell in the television show
remake SWAT[74][75] A song within the soundtrack was named after him, entitled Sammy L.
Jackson by Hot Action Cop.[76] Jackson also appeared in HBO's documentary Unchained
Memories, as a narrator along many other stars like Angela Bassett and Whoopi Goldberg.
Based on reviews gathered by Rotten Tomatoes, in 2004 Jackson starred in both his lowest
and highest ranked films in his career.[77] In the thriller Twisted, Jackson played a mentor
to Ashley Judd.[78] The film garnered a 2% approval rating on the website, with reviewers calling
his performance "lackluster" and "wasted".[79][80][81] He then lent his voice to the computer-
animated film The Incredibles as the superhero Frozone.[82] The film received a 97% approval
rating, and Jackson's performance earned him an Annie Award nomination for Best Voice
Acting.[83][84] He made a cameo in another Quentin Tarantino film, Kill Bill: Volume 2.[85]
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.[86] Although the film received mixed reviews, Jackson's performance was
praised despite the film's storyline.[87][88] Bob Townsend of the Atlanta Journal-
Constitution commended Jackson's performance, "He takes what could have been a cardboard
cliché role and puts flesh on it with his flamboyant intelligence."[89] 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.[90] His last film for 2005
was The Man alongside comedian Eugene Levy.[91] On November 4, 2005, he was presented
with the Hawaii International Film Festival Achievement in Acting Award.[92]
On January 30, 2006, Jackson was honored with a hand and footprint ceremony at Grauman's
Chinese Theatre; he is the seventh African American and 191st actor to be recognized in this
manner.[93] In an interview that year, he said that he chooses roles that are "exciting to watch"
and have an "interesting character inside of a story", and that in his roles he wanted to "do
things [he hasn't] done, things [he] saw as a kid and wanted to do and now [has] an opportunity
to do".[94] 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.[95][96] 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.[97] Jackson's
decision to star in the film was solely based on the title.[98] 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.[99] In December 2006, Jackson starred in Home of the Brave, as a
doctor returning home from the Iraq War.[100]

Jackson at the 2010 Comic-Con in San Diego

On January 30, 2007, Jackson was featured as narrator in Bob Saget's direct-to-DVD Farce of

the Penguins.[101] The film was a spoof of the box office success March of the Penguins (which
was narrated by Morgan Freeman).[102] 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.[103][104] 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.[105][106] 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.[107]

2008-2019: Career expansion

In 2008, he portrayed the villain in The Spirit, which was poorly received by critics and the box
office.[108][109] In 2009, he again worked with Quentin Tarantino when he narrated several scenes
in the World War II film Inglourious Basterds.[110]
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.[111]
[112]
 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).[113] Additionally,
Jackson has appeared in five films with actor Bruce Willis (National Lampoon's Loaded
Weapon 1, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Unbreakable, and Glass) and the actors
were slated to work together in Black Water Transit before both dropped out.[114]

Jackson in 2017

In 2002, Jackson gave his consent for Marvel Comics to design their "Ultimate" version of the
character Nick Fury after his likeness.[115] In the 2008 film Iron Man, he made a cameo as the
character in a post-credit scene.[116] In February 2009, Jackson signed on to a nine-picture deal
with Marvel Studios 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 subsequent film they
would produce.[117] He reprised the role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
[118]
 and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).[119] In February 2015, Jackson stated that he only has
two movies left on his Marvel contract following Age of Ultron.[120] In 2018 and 2019, Jackson
made cameo appearances as Fury in the Avengers sequels Infinity War and Endgame, and
starred as a younger, de-aged Fury in Captain Marvel alongside Brie Larson.
Among his more recent film roles, Jackson appeared in Quentin Tarantino's Django
Unchained, which was released December 25, 2012,[121] Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, which
was released in 70mm on December 25, 2015,[122] and Jordan Vogt-Roberts' Kong: Skull Island,
[123]
 which was released on March 10, 2017. In 2019, Jackson reprised his Unbreakable role as
Mr. Glass in the film Glass, and his Shaft role in Shaft, both sequels to his 2000 films. Also in
2019, he appeared in the Brie Larson film Unicorn Store,[124][125] and had a prominent role as
Fury in the Marvel film Spider-Man: Far From Home. Additionally, he reprised his role as Fury
in a cameo appearance on the ABC television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2013[126] and the
season finale in 2014.[127]

2020-present: Return to theatre

In 2020, he appeared in the television documentary series Enslaved.[128] He also appeared in
the 2021 movie Spiral: From the Book of Saw alongside Chris Rock. After an eleven year
absence from the stage Jackson returned to Broadway as Doaker Charles in a revival
of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson opposite John David Washington and Danielle Brooks.
The 2022 production was directed by Jackson's wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson.[129] For his
performance he received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play nomination.[130]
Upcoming projects
He is set to produce a live-action film adaptation of Afro Samurai,[131] and will play the role of
Sho'nuff in a remake of The Last Dragon.[132] He is set to reprise his MCU role as Nick Fury in
the upcoming Disney+ series Secret Invasion,[133] and in The Marvels, the sequel to Captain
Marvel.[134]

Other appearances
He's known for his extensive voice roles including Whiplash in Turbo (2013), the title character
of the anime series Afro Samurai (2007), and Frank Tenpenny in the video game Grand Theft
Auto: San Andreas (2004). He also narrated the acclaimed documentary I Am Not Your
Negro (2016). 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.[135][136] He was
in the Pilot for Ghostwriter.[citation needed] He guest-starred as himself in an episode of
the BBC/HBO sitcom Extras.[137] He voiced the main antagonist, Officer Frank Tenpenny, in the
video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.[138] Jackson also hosted a variety of awards
shows. He has hosted the MTV Movie Awards (1998),[139] the ESPYs (1999, 2001, 2002, and
2009),[140] and the Spike TV Video Game Awards (2005, 2006, 2007, and 2012).[141] 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.[142] He also recorded the Audible.com audiobook
of Go the Fuck to Sleep.[143] For the Atlanta Falcons' 2010 season, Jackson portrayed Rev.
Sultan in the Falcons "Rise Up" commercial.
He also appeared in the Capital One cash-back credit card commercials. Jackson too
appeared in a Sky Broadband Shield commercial, Sky UK’s broadband service as Nick Fury to
promote Captain America: The Winter Soldier.[144] He also played Nick Fury in an ad for the
video game Marvel Snap.[145] Jackson 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.[146]