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This page uses content from the Samuel L. Jackson biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

For other people named Samuel Jackson, see Samuel Jackson (disambiguation)

Samuel Leroy Jackson (December 21, 1948) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. Jackson came to fame in the early 1990s, after a series of well-reviewed performances, and has since become a major film star and cultural icon, having appeared in a large number of high-grossing films. He is currently working on seven films that will debut in 2006 and 2007. His most recent film, Snakes on a Plane, was released in August of 2006 and his next film, the drama Home of the Brave, will be released on December 15, 2006.

Jackson's films have grossed between $2.1 billion (as either lead actor or co-lead actor) and $3.8 billion, (films that feature Jackson as either lead or supporting) placing him as either the 7th highest-grossing actor (as strictly lead) or the 1st highest-grossing actor (counting supporting roles) of all time.

Jackson has noted that he chooses roles that are "exciting to watch" and have an "interesting character inside of a story", and that in his roles he wants to "do things [he hasn't] done, things [he] saw as a kid and wanted to do and now have an opportunity to do".

Biography

Early life

Jackson was born in Washington, D.C. He grew up as an only child in the factory town of Chattanooga, Tennessee with his mother, Elizabeth Jackson (a factory worker and later a supply buyer for a mental institution), and his maternal grandparents and extended family. His father lived away from the family in Kansas City, Missouri and later died from alcoholism. Jackson attended Riverside High a segregated school where, between the third and twelfth grade, he played the French horn and trumpet in the school orchestra. He later attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he co-founded the "Just Us Theater".

Civil Rights Movement involvement

After the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackson attended the funeral in Atlanta as one of the ushers. Jackson then flew to Memphis to join an equal rights protest march. In a recent 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." 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. The college eventually agreed to change its ways, but Jackson was expelled for his actions for two years (even though he would later return to the college to earn his Bachelor of Arts in Drama in 1972). Jackson decided to remain in Atlanta, where he met with Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown and others members in the Black Power movement. 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. However, before Jackson could become involved with any significant armed struggle, his mother sent him to Los Angeles after the F.B.I. told her that he would die within a year if he remained with the Black Power movement.

Acting career

After taking a public speaking class and appearing in a version of The Threepenny Opera at his college, Jackson appeared in a few minor acting roles, including television work, and in 1976 moved to New York City, spending the next decade appearing in stage plays with the Negro Ensemble Company and the New York Shakespeare Company, being mentored by Morgan Freeman.

Jackson began appearing in feature films in the late 1980s, including a brief role in the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America, playing a shotgun-toting robber. His performance in Jungle Fever was so acclaimed that the 1991 Cannes Film Festival awarded a special "Supporting Actor" award just for him. Along with that award, he has won many others, including a Silver Berlin Bear, A BAFTA Film Award, and two Independent Spirit Awards.

Jackson is perhaps best known for his roles in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction (for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor) and Jackie Brown, the Spike Lee films Do The Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues and Jungle Fever, his role in the 2000 version of Shaft and as Jedi Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Windu's purple lightsaber in the Star Wars prequels was the result of Jackson's suggestion; he wanted to be sure that his character would stand out in a crowded battle scene.

He is usually cast in roles that involve a cool, controlled, "in-the-know" character, many of whom have an aggressive nature. His roles almost always involve a memorable line delivery, many of which are heavily laced with profanity which has over the years become an inadvertent source of humor for many Jackson fans. Jackson's trademark voice inflection lends heavily to this attribute. Jackson is bald in real life, but enjoys wearing unusual wigs in his films. On June 13, 2000, Jackson was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame which can be found at 7018 Hollywood Blvd.

In 2005, Jackson publicly turned down an offer to co-star in rapper 50 Cent's acting debut, citing that he did not want to lend credence to what he believed was an inexperienced and unproven actor. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote of Jackson's decision: "Like Bill Cosby, Jackson is arguing against the anti-intellectual message that success for young black males is better sought in the worlds of rap and sports than in the classroom". Jackson reportedly still thinks that rappers should not be in films, but has spoken with 50 Cent several times about it and has made amends with him. However, in December 2006, Jackson will appear with 50 Cent in the film Home of the Brave.

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. With his most recent film, Snakes on a Plane, Jackson has admitted that the film's title was the reason he agreed to star in it and has expressed interest in a sequel to the film. To build anticipation for the film, he also cameoed in the 2006 music video Snakes on a Plane (Bring It) by Cobra Starship. In a review of the film, the Syracuse Post-Standard's film critic noted that Jackson portrays "his usual no-nonsense authority figure" in the film.

Jackson's upcoming films include Home of the Brave, a post-Iraq War drama co-starring rapper 50 Cent, Farce of the Penguins, a direct-to-DVD parody on the popular documentary March of the Penguins, in which Jackson has what he describes as a "Morgan Freeman role", and Jumper, a sci-fi thriller co-starring Hayden Christensen and based on the novel by Steven Gould. Jackson has indicated that he would like to appear in a "pure horror film" for his next role.

Other work

Jackson gave his consent for Marvel Comics to design their "Ultimate" version of the character Nick Fury after his likeness. He has also stated interest in playing the character in a live-action film.

Jackson has also had a song named after him, entitled Sammy L. Jackson by Hot Action Cop. The song was featured on the soundtrack for the 2003 film S.W.A.T, in which Jackson appeared.

Jackson has been parodied twice on Chappelle's Show. He was played by comedian Dave Chappelle in sketches involving Mace Windu and a fake commercial peddling "Samuel Jackson" beer (a parody of Samuel Adams). He has also been spoofed in the film Team America: World Police, where he was portrayed as a villainous member of the Film Actors Guild, and the upcoming 2007 film Epic Movie, poking fun at his role in Snakes on a Plane. Jackson was mentioned on the animated television show Family Guy in the episode Brian Does Hollywood, when one of the characters declared that "Samuel L. Jackson is in everything" (pointing to Jackson's extensive filmography) at which point one of the show's characters is shown directing Jackson in a pornographic movie. Jackson also guest-starred as himself in an episode of the BBC/HBO sitcom Extras, voiced the main antagonist, Officer Frank Tenpenny, of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the lead role in an upcoming anime series, Afro Samurai, and has a recurring part as the voice of "Gin Rummy" in several episodes of the animated series The Boondocks. In one episode, he paid tribute to his Pulp Fiction character, Jules Winnfield, by reenacting the "What?" scene from the film.

Jackson also provided the voice for God in the New Testament for an audio book version of the Bible entitled The Bible Experience, which was released in November 2006. He was given the lead role because producers felt his deep, authoritative voice was perfect for the role.

Personal life

Jackson married actress Latanya Richardson in 1980, whom he met while attending Morehouse College. The couple, who live in Los Angeles, California, have a daughter, Zoe, born in 1982, who is in culinary school.

Jackson is an avid basketball fan, and especially enjoys the Harlem Globetrotters and the Toronto Raptors. He also became an avid Liverpool F.C. fan after filming the movie The 51st State in Liverpool, England. Jackson enjoys playing golf, a game he has been reported to have become very proficient at. He has stated that if he had to choose any other career, he would be "on the PGA [tour] playing golf" and that it is the only place where he "can go dressed as a pimp and fit in perfectly".

He is a comic book and anime fan and can be seen reading a copy of the comic book 100 Bullets in the music video for Snakes on a Plane (Bring It) by Cobra Starship.

Selected filmography

Television Work

Footnotes

External links

• NNDB biography and facts page
• Official site of Samuel L. Jackson
• Samuel L. Jackson Soundboard, (warning: explicit language)
• Unofficial Samuel L. Jackson fansite
• Extensive biography of Samuel L. Jackson

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