Six Definitive Films: The ultimate beginner’s guide to Samuel L. Jackson
The American Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson has become something more than an actor in many ways, with his star persona swelling to the point where he now is more of a cultural icon, akin to the likes of Tom Cruise, Will Smith and Meryl Streep. Working with esteemed filmmakers such as Spike Lee, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino throughout his 50-year-long career, Jackson has had a hand in some of the finest movies ever made.
Entering the industry in 1972, the actor made his screen debut in Michael Schultz’s Together for Days and continued his efforts for major success by featuring in a number of minor TV releases. With many roles being insignificant extra work, Jackson found better success away from the cameras, impressing in a 1981 performance of the show A Soldier’s Play, which would lead to the young actor being introduced to filmmaker Spike Lee.
Casting Jackson as Leeds in Lee’s 1988 movie School Daze, the actor shot to almost immediate success, sparking a blossoming early career that would see collaborations with the likes of John Landis, Alan Alda, William Peter Blatty and Martin Scorsese by the time the 1990s came around. Setting the actor up for success, Jackson went on to become one of the most beloved actors of contemporary Hollywood.
With a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in his repertoire for Tarantino’s 1994 flick Pulp Fiction, as well as an honourary award given to him at the 2022 Academy Awards, Jackson’s influence on modern cinema has been well documented. Chronicling his rise from the dawn of his career, let’s take a look back at Samuel L. Jackson’s six most definitive films.
Samuel L. Jackson’s six definitive films:
Coming to America (John Landis, 1988)
The seminal American filmmaker Spike Lee might have given Jackson his first taste of feature film success, but it was John Landis who arguably had more influence in publicising the actor’s name further, awarding him a supporting role in his beloved comedy Coming to America. Appearing beside Eddie Murphy and James Earl Jones in the two-time Oscar-nominated movie, Jackson’s profile was well and truly elevated.
Appearing as a man who holds up a diner, Jackson’s role may be fleeting, but it would thrust him into the minds of audiences and filmmakers across the globe.
Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)
Spike Lee would reward Jackson’s burgeoning fame with a more major supporting role in his two-time Oscar-nominated movie Do the Right Thing, a film which is often considered to be one of the very best of the late 20th century. The iconic summer-inspired comedy-drama from Lee is fueled by an electric energy that lights a stick of dynamite underneath a community in Brooklyn that is tight with racial tension.
Jackson appears as the local DJ of the neighbourhood Mister Señor Love Daddy and is well-remembered for making a considerable mark on the film’s iconic opening scene.
Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
Following his appearance in Do the Right Thing, Jackson’s career thrived, but a problem remained; he could not escape the niche of supporting characters. Even in his most successful movies of the late early 1990s, including Scorsese’s Goodfellas, Phillip Noyce’s Patriot Games and Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, Jackson could not break the mould, until Quentin Tarantino came along.
Having already impressed the young filmmaker with True Romance in 1993, Tarantino hired Jackson’s expertise once again for the Palme d’Or-winning masterpiece Pulp Fiction, where the actor played a key role.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (George Lucas, 1999)
After 1994, Jackson’s career took on considerable new life, thrusting himself into the public eye with further appearances in the action sequel Die Hard: With a Vengeance, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Hard Eight, Joel Schumacher’s A Time to Kill, Tarantino’s Jackie Brown and Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight all before the turn of the new millennium. But Jackson was wrong if he thought his career couldn’t further thrive.
In 1999 George Lucas recruited him to take a supporting role in perhaps the most highly-anticipated movie of all time, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the long-awaited sequel to the spectacular sci-fi series. Becoming a fan-favourite over the course of three prequel films, Jackson managed to create a staple character with his sheer charisma and star power alone.
Coach Carter (Thomas Carter, 2005)
Jackson’s success predictably continued in the 21st century, easily transitioning to a new kind of Hollywood which demanded quicker turnaround times and a larger focus on special effects. Seeing success with M. Night Shyamalan in Unbreakable, as well as the Star Wars sequel Attack of the Clones in 2002 and the animated Pixar classic The Incredibles in 2004, Jackson quickly became a key fixture of popular cinema.
Craving another leading role, however, Jackson took to the 2005 drama Coach Carter with great enthusiasm, receiving great commercial and critical acclaim for his depiction of basketball coach Ken Carter in the biographical sports drama.
Avengers Assemble (Joss Whedon, 2012)
Ultimately, as his contemporary career has demonstrated, whilst Jackson thrives in leading roles, he also makes for a formidable supporting presence. Proving his dynamism as a multi-talented performer, whilst Jackson continued to impress with blockbuster releases like Revenge of the Sith in 2005, he also thrived in action roles such as in 2006s Snakes on a Plane and as comedy characters, like in the 2010 film The Other Guys.
Though having already proved himself in the blockbuster realm with Lucas’ Star Wars series, Disney put Jackson front and centre of their Marvel showstopper Avengers Assemble in 2012, appearing as the founder of the titular superhero crew, Nick Fury. Becoming a greater fixture in the series than his initial role may have suggested, Jackson’s character appeared in a multitude of Marvel releases and soon has his own Disney+ show on the way.
With a collaboration with modern master filmmaker Barry Jenkins already on the cards for the future, as well as an inevitable future collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, Jackson’s Hollywood career is far from over.
