Samuel L. Jackson

Profile
Name: Samuel L Jackson
Birth Name: Samuel Leroy Jackson
Height: 6'3"
Sex: M
Nationality: American
Birth Date: December 21, 1948
Birth Place: Washington D.C., USA
Profession: actor
Education: Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia (majored in Drama; graduated in 1972)
Husband/Wife: LaTanya Richardson (actress; born on 1941; met while Jackson was attending Morehouse College; married in 1980)
Mother: Elizabeth Jackson (supply buyer for state mental institution)
Grand Father: Janitor
Aunt: Edna (teacher)
Son: Zoe Jackson (born in 1982)

Biography
Proficient in stealing almost every scene he appears in through his screen intensity and polished delivery he regularly displays when performing, Samuel Leroy Jackson really has all the reason to place himself softly in the group of lauded leading men in Hollywood. His work on a number of projects, either high profile or low-key, has indeed shown his ability to play film characters with both remarkable versatility and unusual intelligence critics often praised for. Barely knew his father who left the family several years after his birth on December 21, 1948 in Washington, D.C, little Samuel grew up under the nurture of his mother, Elizabeth Jackson, and maternal grandparents in the factory town of Chattanooga, Tennessee. He began to develop an interest in acting when attending Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, leading him to change his major in Architecture to Drama, even making his big screen debut through a 1972 drama flick entitled “Together for Days” before finally obtained a Bachelor of Arts in the same year.

Afterwards headed for New York in 1976 to flourish his acting career, Samuel found himself landed his feet on the Negro Ensemble Company in which he later was involved in some of its ...

Filmography
2008 Jumper
2008 Cleaner
2008 Lakeview Terrace
2007 1408
2007 Black Snake Moan
2007 Farce of the Penguins
2007 The Shadow Chaser
2006 Snakes on a Plane
2006 Afro Samurai [Anime Series]
2006 Freedomland
2006 Home of the Brave
2006 Resurrecting the Champ
2005 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
2005 The Man
2005 XXX: State of the Union
2005 Iconoclasts: Jackson on Russell
2005 Coach Carter
2004 In My Country
2004 Kill Bill Vol. 2
2004 Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
2004 Twisted
2004 The Incredibles
2004 The N Word
2003 S.W.A.T.
2003 Kill Bill Vol. 1
2003 Basic
2002 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
2002 The Art of Action: Martial Arts in the Movies
2002 Formula 51
2002 No Good Deed
2002 Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
2002 XXX
2002 Changing Lanes
2001 The Caveman's Valentine
2000 Shaft
2000 Unbreakable
2000 Rules of Engagement
1999 Deep Blue Sea
1999 Forever Hollywood
1999 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
1998 The Negotiator
1998 Out of Sight
1998 The Red Violin
1998 Sphere
1998 Saturday Night Live: Samuel L. Jackson
1997 Happily Ever After Fairy Tales: Pied Piper
1997 The Directors: John Frankenheimer
1997 Eve's Bayou
1997 One Eight Seven
1997 Jackie Brown
1996 The Great White Hype
1996 Trees Lounge
1996 Hard Eight
1996 A Time to Kill
1996 The Long Kiss Goodnight
1996 Teens and Guns: Preventing Violence
1996 The Search for One-Eyed Jimmy
1995 Losing Isaiah
1995 Kiss of Death
1995 Shaquille O'Neal: Larger than Life
1995 Die Hard With a Vengeance
1995 Fluke
1994 Pulp Fiction
1994 Hail Caesar
1994 Fresh
1994 The New Age
1994 Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker
1994 Against the Wall
1994 Ghostwriter: Who Burned Mr. Brinker's Store?
1993 Jurassic Park
1993 National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1
1993 True Romance
1993 Menace II Society
1993 The Meteor Man
1993 Amos & Andrew
1992 Johnny Suede
1992 Patriot Games
1992 Jumpin' at the Boneyard
1992 Fathers and Sons
1992 Juice
1992 White Sands
1991 Law & Order: The Violence of Summer
1991 Jungle Fever
1991 Strictly Business
1990 GoodFellas
1990 The Return of Superfly
1990 Mo' Better Blues
1990 Def by Temptation
1990 A Shock to the System
1990 Betsy's Wedding
1989 Sea of Love
1989 Dead Man Out
1989 Do the Right Thing
1988 School Daze
1988 Coming to America
1987 Uncle Tom's Cabin
1987 Eddie Murphy: Raw
1981 Ragtime
1978 The Trial of the Moke
Fighting for Freedom: Revolution & Civil War

Executive Producer
2001 The Caveman's Valentine

Producer
2008 Cleaner
1997 Eve's Bayou

Awards
Academy
1994 Best Supporting Actor Pulp Fiction

Berlin International Film Festival
1998 Silver Bear for Best Actor Jackie Brown

Cannes Film Festival
1991 Jury Prize For Best Supporting Actor Jungle Fever

Golden Globe
1997 Best Actor in Musical or Comedy Picture Jackie Brown
1994 Best Supporting Actor Pulp Fiction

Independent Spirit Award
1997 Best Supporting Actor Hard Eight
1994 Best Actor Pulp Fiction

National Society of Film Critics
1994 Best Actor - Runner-up Pulp Fiction

New York Film Critics Circle
1991 Best Supporting Actor Jungle Fever

Screen Actors Guild
1994 Best Supporting Actor Pulp Fiction

Trivia
* In 1994 he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor Acadmeny Awards for PULP FICTION
* Jackson and Ben Affleck were so cold filming new movie CHANGING LANES they wore wetsuits under their clothes.
* He is reported to have B.M.F. engraved into the handle of his lightsaber. B.M.F. is short for Bad Motherfucker which was written on Jules' (Samuel L. Jackson) wallet in PULP FICTION (1994).
* He says he uses a purple lightsaber in STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002) but that fans shouldn't speculate endlessly about why. He just thought it would look cool so he asked George Lucas if he could have one and, eventually, Lucas agreed.
* He says the line, This is some repugnant shit towards the end of JACKIE BROWN. He says this line in both PULP FICTION (1994) and SHAFT (2000)
* In THE GREAT WHITE HYPE (1996), the Sultan (Jackson) greets a man with shoulder length black hair and a black suit with Hey Vincent, Vincent, where's Jules man, a reference to Jackson's character in PULP FICTION (1994).
* In one scene in JACKIE BROWN (1997), Ordell Robie, played by him chastises Max Cherry for not washing his hands after using the toilet. In THE NEGOTIATOR (1998), Jackson tells a hostage-taker a joke about a Marine who didn't wash his hands after using the urinal. And in PULP FICTION, Jackson chides John Travolta for his poor hand-washing.
* Quentin Tarantino originally wrote the role of Jules in PULP FICTION specifically for Jackson, however it was almost given to Paul Calderon after a great audition. When he heard this, he flew to LA and re-auditioned, getting back the part he was supposed to play. Calderon ended up with a cameo as Paul, the bartender.
* When Ordell Robbie first goes to Max Cherry's office and is asked if he has the cash for the bond, he responds I got in right here in my brand new raptor bag. Although the logo is partially obscured, it is clearly that of the Toronto Raptors. Jackson was frequently courtside at Toronto Raptor games the season before filming JACKIE BROWN.
* Played in a SOLDIERS PLAY with Adolph Caesar.
* Accomplished at playing brass instruments (french horn, trumpet) in school symphony orchestras from grade 3 to grade 12.
* Avid golfer.
* Briefly suspended in 1969 from Morehouse College after taking hostage several members of the board of trustees, including the father of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., during a protest of the failure of the university to have black trustees or a black studies program.
* Grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee
* His character from PULP FICTION (1994), Jules Winnfield, ranked second in the 'coolest movie characters of all time', in a poll by the UK's Empire Magazine (the winner was Tyler Durden of FIGHT CLUB (1999)).
* His characters often feature the color purple: Mr. Glass wore purple clothing in UNBREAKABLE (2000); Jackson chose to have Doyle Gipson wear a purple hat in CHANGING LANES (2003); and Mace Windu, upon request by Jackson to George Lucas, wielded a purple light saber in STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002).
* In 2003, he dissed rappers turned actors, saying as a classically trained thespian, it was not his job to lend credibility to rappers by appearing in movies with them. But in reality, he has worked with more rappers than any other actor in Hollywood, seven times as of this writing: JUICE (1992) ( Tupac Shakur), SHAFT (2000) ( Busta Rhymes), ONE EIGHT SEVEN (1997) ( Method Man), DEEP BLUE SEA (1999) and S.W.A.T. (2003) ( LL Cool J), XXX (2002) ('Eve' ), and XXX: STATE OF THE UNION (2005) ( Ice Cube).
* Is the second highest grossing actor of all-time (after Harrison Ford) in terms of total combined grosses of all of his films.
* Nickname: Sam; King of Cool
* One of Jackson's jobs as a struggling actor in New York was as a doorman at the popular Manhattan Plaza subsidized apts, home to hundreds of actors and artisits, including Giancarlo Esposito, who co-starred with Jackson in AMOS & ANDREW (1993).
* Ranked #44 in Empire (UK) magazine's The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list. (1997)
* The commencement speaker at his daughter's graduation from Vassar College. (2004)
* Trade mark: Often plays violent, loud-mouthed individuals with unusual beliefs or philosophies.
* Was an admitted drug user until he completed drug rehab two weeks before playing a drug addict in JUNGLE FEVER (1991).
* Was offered his role in STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999) after mentioning in an interview on UK TV show TFI Friday (1996) that he'd really like to work with George Lucas.
* Was the first choice for Fallon in JUDGMENT NIGHT (1993).
* Worked as a camera stand-in for Bill Cosby during the filming of The Cosby Show (1984).
* Nominated for Best Dressed at MTV Movie Awards for SHAFT (2001)
* Nominated for Best Male Performance at MTV Movie Awards for JACKIE BROWN (1998)
* Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical at Golden Globe Awards for JACKIE BROWN (1998)
* Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture at Golden Globe Awards for A TIME TO KILL (1997)
* Nominated for Best On-Screen Duo at MTV Movie Awards for PULP FICTION (1995) - shared with John Travolta
* Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV at Golden Globe Awards for AGAINST THE WALL (1995)
* Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture at Golden Globe Awards for PULP FICTION (1995)
* Nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role at Screen Actors Guild Awards for PULP FICTION (1995)