Samuel L. Jackson

Acting • Washington, D.C., USA • Born December 21, 1948

Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him the second highest-grossing actor of all time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave him an Academy Honorary Award in 2022 as "A cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide". Jackson started his career on stage making his professional theatre debut in Mother Courage and her Children in 1980 at The Public Theatre. From 1981 to 1983 he originated the role of Private Louis Henderson in A Soldier's Play Off-Broadway. He also originated the role of Boy Willie in August Wilson's The Piano Lesson in 1987 at the Yale Repertory Theatre. He returned to the play in the 2022 Broadway revival playing Doaker Charles. Jackson early film roles include Coming to America (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Patriot Games (1992), Juice (1992), True Romance (1993), and Jurassic Park (1993), Menace II Society (1993), and Fresh (1994). His collaborations with Spike Lee led to greater prominence with films such as School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Oldboy (2013), and Chi-Raq (2015). Jackson's breakout role was in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) which earned him a BAFTA Award win and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He further collaborated with Tarantino, acting in Jackie Brown (1997), Django Unchained (2012), and The Hateful Eight (2015). He's known for having appeared in a number of big-budget films, including Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), The Negotiator (1997), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Shaft (2000) and its reboot (2019), XXX (2002), S.W.A.T. (2003), Coach Carter (2005), Snakes on a Plane (2006), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), and Glass (2019). He also gained widespread recognition as the Jedi Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999–2005), later voicing the role in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and the video game Lego Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2011). With his permission, his likeness was used for the Ultimate version of the Marvel Comics character Nick Fury; he subsequently played Fury in 11 Marvel Cinematic Universe films, beginning with a cameo appearance in Iron Man (2008), as well as guest-starring in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He will reprise this role in the upcoming Disney+ series Secret Invasion, which is set to premiere on June 21, 2023. Jackson has provided his voice for several animated films, documentaries, television series, and video games, including Lucius Best / Frozone in the Pixar films The Incredibles (2004) and Incredibles 2 (2018).

Movies

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Samuel L. Jackson

Filmography (121)

Afterburn

The Unholy Trinity

The Garfield Movie

Argylle

The Piano Lesson

The Marvels

The Kill Room

Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard

The Protégé

The Last Full Measure

The Banker

Glass

Captain Marvel

Avengers: Endgame

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Shaft

Avengers: Infinity War

Incredibles 2

Life Itself

Kong: Skull Island

xXx: Return of Xander Cage

The Hitman's Bodyguard

Unicorn Store

The Legend of Tarzan

Cell

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Avengers: Age of Ultron

The Hateful Eight

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Barely Lethal

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

RoboCop

Big Game

Reasonable Doubt

Oldboy

Turbo

The Avengers

Django Unchained

Zambezia

Meeting Evil

Thor

Captain America: The First Avenger

The Sunset Limited

Iron Man 2

The Other Guys

Unthinkable

Inglourious Basterds

Astro Boy

Iron Man

Jumper

The Spirit

Lakeview Terrace

Gospel Hill

Soul Men

1408

Cleaner

Resurrecting the Champ

Snakes on a Plane

Freedomland

Black Snake Moan

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

xXx: State of the Union

Coach Carter

The Man

The Incredibles

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Twisted

In My Country

S.W.A.T.

Basic

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

xXx

No Good Deed

Changing Lanes