Samuel L. Jackson is an American actor and film producer. A highly-prolific actor who starred in over 150 film roles to date, Jackson's films have collectively grossed over $27 billion, making him the highest-grossing live-action actor of all time as of 2021. [1] [note 1]
Jackson debuted on film with a leading role in the Michael Schultz-directed Together for Days (1972). His other early film appearances were minor roles in films, such as Ragtime (1981), Coming to America (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Goodfellas (1990) and The Exorcist III (1990). His breakthrough role was the crack-addict Gator in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991), for which Jackson won a Special Jury Prize for Best Supporting Actor at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. [3] He appeared in Jurassic Park in 1993 and, a year later, starred in the Quentin Tarantino-directed Pulp Fiction . [4] For the latter film, Jackson won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award. [5] [6] In 1994, he was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in Against the Wall . [7] The following year, he starred opposite Bruce Willis in Die Hard with a Vengeance . [8] Jackson's performance in A Time to Kill (1996) garnered him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. [9] He then collaborated with Tarantino on Jackie Brown (1997), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. [10] Two years later, he starred in the science fiction horror film Deep Blue Sea . [11]
Beginning with The Phantom Menace in 1999, Jackson played Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and he has reprised the role in later entries. In 2000, he had a leading role in the remake of Shaft . [12] Also that year, he starred opposite Bruce Willis in the M. Night Shyamalan-directed Unbreakable . [13] He returned to this role in Glass (2019). In 2004, he voiced Frozone in Pixar's The Incredibles [14] and Officer Frank Tenpenny in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . [15] Jackson appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Nick Fury, starting in Iron Man (2008) and has reprised the role in ten films and three television series. In 2011, he starred opposite Tommy Lee Jones in The Sunset Limited , an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's play of the same name. [16] The following year, he collaborated with Tarantino again on Django Unchained . [17] He starred opposite Kurt Russell in The Hateful Eight (2015), also directed by Tarantino. [18] In the latter half of the 2010s, Jackson starred in blockbuster films such as Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) and Kong: Skull Island (2017).
Jackson has appeared in three stage productions. In the early 1980s, he performed in Off-Broadway productions of Mother Courage and Her Children and A Soldier's Play . From 2011 to 2012, he portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in The Mountaintop on Broadway. Jackson has also lent his voice to six video games and two audiobooks. He received an Academy Honorary Award in 2022. [19]
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | Movin' On | Patrolman | Episode: "Woman of Steel" | [172] |
1977 | The Displaced Person | Sulk | Television film | [173] [174] |
1978 | Milo Muse the Rabbit | Johnson Whitaker | [175] | |
1986–1987 | Spenser: For Hire | Leroy Clancy / Ned | 2 episodes | [176] |
1987 | Uncle Tom's Cabin | George Harris | Television film; credited as Samuel Jackson | [177] |
1989 | Dead Man Out | Calvin Fredricks | HBO television movie; credited as Sam Jackson | [178] [179] |
A Man Called Hawk | Cutter | Episode: "Intensive Care" | [180] | |
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd | Brother Elvis | Episode: "Here's Why You Should Always Make Your Bed in the Morning" | [181] | |
1991 | Law & Order | Louis Taggert | Episode: "The Violence of Summer" | [182] [183] |
Roc | Larry | Episode: "Hearts and Diamonds" | [184] | |
1992 | Ghostwriter | Reggie Jenkins | 3 episodes | [185] [186] |
I'll Fly Away | Walter Harper | Episode: "Since Walter" | [187] | |
1994 | Against the Wall | Jamaal | Television film | [188] |
1995 | Shaquille O'Neal: Larger than Life | Narrator | Documentary | [189] |
1996 | 11th Independent Spirit Awards | Himself (host) | Television special | [190] |
1997 | 12th Independent Spirit Awards | [191] | ||
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Mayor of Hamelin | Voice, Episode: "The Pied Piper" | [192] | |
1998 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | Episode: "Samuel L. Jackson/Ben Folds Five" | [193] |
1999 | 1999 ESPY Awards | Television special | [194] | |
2001 | The Proud Family | Joseph | Voice, Episode: "Seven Days of Kwanzaa" | [195] |
2001 ESPY Awards | Himself (host) | Television special | [194] | |
2002 | 2002 ESPY Awards | [194] | ||
Fighting for Freedom: Revolution & Civil War | Narrator | Documentary | [178] | |
The Art of Action: Martial Arts in the Movies | Himself (host) | Television special | [196] | |
Unchained Memories | Narrator | Documentary | [197] | |
2005 | 20th Independent Spirit Awards | Himself (host) | Television special | [198] |
Extras | Himself | Series 1 episode 5: "Samuel L. Jackson" | ||
2005–2010 | The Boondocks | Gin Rummy | Voice, 3 episodes | [199] |
2005 | 2005 Spike Video Game Awards | Himself (host) | Television special | [200] |
2006 | 2006 Spike Video Game Awards | [201] | ||
Honor Deferred | Narrator | Documentary | [202] | |
2007 | Afro Samurai | Afro Samurai / Ninja Ninja | Also producer, voice | [203] |
Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story | Narrator | Documentary | [204] | |
2007 Spike Video Game Awards | Himself (host) | Television special | [205] | |
2009 | Afro Samurai: Resurrection | Afro Samurai / Ninja Ninja | Television film, voice | [206] |
2009 ESPY Awards | Himself (host) | Television special | [194] | |
Uneven Fairways | Narrator | Documentary | [207] | |
2011 | The Sunset Limited | Black | Television film | [16] |
Prohibition | Reader | One episode | [208] | |
Curiosity | Himself (host) | Episode: "How Will the World End?" | [209] | |
2012 | BET Awards 2012 | Himself (host) | Television special | [210] |
2012 Spike Video Game Awards | [211] | |||
2013–2014 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Nick Fury | 2 episodes | [212] [213] |
2014 | Black Dynamite | Captain Quinton | Voice, Episode: "Black Jaws or Finger Lickin' Chicken of the Sea" | [214] |
2020 | Staged | Himself | Episode: "Who The F**k is Michael Sheen?" | [215] |
A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote | Celebrity guest | [216] | ||
Enslaved | Documentary series | [217] | ||
Death to 2020 | Dash Bracket | Television special | [218] | |
2021 | Amend: The Fight for America | Himself | 2 episodes | [219] |
2021–2023 | What If...? | Nick Fury / Sir Nicholas Fury | Voice, 7 episodes | [213] |
2022 | The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey | Ptolemy Grey | Miniseries; also executive producer | [220] |
2023 | Secret Invasion | Nick Fury | [221] | |
2024 | Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist | Frank Moten | Upcoming miniseries | [222] |
† | Denotes series that have not yet been released |
Year(s) | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1980 | Mother Courage and Her Children | Performer | The Public Theater, Off-Broadway | [223] |
1981–1983 | A Soldier's Play | Pvt. Louis Henson | Theatre Four, Off-Broadway | [224] [225] |
1987 | The Piano Lesson | Boy Willie | Yale Repertory Theatre | [226] |
2011–2012 | The Mountaintop | Martin Luther King Jr. | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway | [227] |
2022 | The Piano Lesson | Doaker Charles | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway | [228] [229] [230] |
Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" | Cobra Starship featuring William Beckett, Travie McCoy and Maja Ivarsson | Himself | [231] |
2009 | "Blame It" | Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain | Clubber | [232] |
2024 | "Electric Energy" | Ariana DeBose, Boy George and Nile Rodgers | Himself | [233] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Officer Frank Tenpenny | [234] | |
The Incredibles | Lucius Best / Frozone | Based on the movie | [235] | |
The Incredibles: When Danger Calls | [236] | |||
2009 | Afro Samurai | Afro Samurai / Ninja Ninja | [237] | |
2010 | Heroes of Newerth | Samuel Jackson announcer | Unique read lines in purchasable pack | [238] |
Iron Man 2 | Nick Fury | [239] | ||
2011 | Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars | Mace Windu | [240] | |
2014 | Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes | Nick Fury | [241] [242] | |
2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | [243] | ||
2021 | Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition | Officer Frank Tenpenny | Archival recordings Remaster of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas only | [244] |
Year | Title | Ref. |
---|---|---|
2011 | Go the Fuck to Sleep | [245] |
2012 | A Rage in Harlem | [246] |
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