The British actor Samuel L Jackson was “always talking about”
Seeing as Samuel L Jackson is one of the most notorious and acclaimed actors of his generation, it’s invariably occurred that he has been afforded the opportunities to work with some of the greatest movie stars and directors of all time, with the filmmakers comprising Tony Scott, Spike Lee and, of course, Quentin Tarantino.
Acting-wise, Jackson has stood alongside a mighty list of greats, including John Travolta, Laurence Fishburne, Josh Brolin, Pam Grier, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx. Such stars all hail from Jackson’s native United States, showing the kind of talent that has been on offer in the country for so many years.
However, Jackson has never avoided working with foreign actors, and he once spoke of his favourite British actor of all time. Scottish acting icon Robert Carlyle, known for his performances in Trainspotting, The Full Monty and Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, might not be the first actor we would associate with Jackson, but they once played together in the 2001 action comedy film The 51st State, directed by Ronny Yu.
Also starring English actors Emily Mortimer, Ricky Tomlinson, Sean Pertwee, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Walters, plus American singer Meat Loaf, The 51st State tells of an American master chemist played by Jackson who heads out to England to sell his new powerful drug. However, upon his arrival, the sale falls through and he finds himself embroiled in dangerous game of lies.
Just before 2002, Carlyle had been making an impression in the United States, but The 51st State was largely an instance of Jackson coming over to play his hand in a British movie. Jackson had been excited about working with the Scottish actor and once told the BBC about his early impression of him.
“I was always talking about Robert, but I’d never met him,” Jackson explained. “So he flew into LA, and as soon as we made eye contact we immediately broke into great big smiles, so we knew we’d get along famously.” That kind of immediate rapport played an important role in Jackson and Carlyle’s on-screen chemistry.
Noting the kind of bond that his character, chemist Elmo, and Carlyle’s Liverpool “fixer” Felix, share in The 51stState, Jackson noted, “The wonderful thing for me is that this is not your typical American buddy bonding movie where the two guys beat each other to pulp before they respect each other. These guys find common ground and so reach an understanding – which is more how people really get together rather than that thing we always see in movies.”
In addition, Jackson knew that there had to be an English feel to the film. Otherwise, it might feel strange and overly American, so Jackson had to adapt to a British sense of cinema. “It was also important that this film was told from a British perspective, so American audiences can feel the way I feel until they adjust the way my character adjusts,” Jackson said.
The 51st State might have flown under the radar somewhat, bringing in only half of its budget at the box office, but it still served as a moment Samuel L Jackson got to work with one of his favourite actors, one that he had always been “talking about”, Robert Carlyle, who must have been mightily happy to star alongside the American acting legend himself.
