Samuel L. Jackson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Samuel L. Jackson
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Jackson in 2022
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Samuel Leroy Jackson
December 21, 1948 Washington, D.C., U.S.
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| Citizenship | United States • Gabon |
| Education | Morehouse College (BA) |
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| Years active | 1972–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Full list |
Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor. He is one of the most famous actors of his time. The movies he has been in have earned more than $27 billion around the world. This makes him the highest-earning actor of all time. In 2022, he received a special Academy Honorary Award. This award recognized him as "a cultural icon whose amazing work has connected with people across different types of movies and generations."
Jackson started his acting career in theater in 1980. He performed in plays like Mother Courage and Her Children and A Soldier's Play. He also played Boy Willie in August Wilson's The Piano Lesson in 1987. Later, he played Martin Luther King Jr. in the Broadway play The Mountaintop in 2011. He returned to Broadway in 2022 for a new version of The Piano Lesson. For this role, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Jackson's early movie roles included Coming to America (1988) and Juice (1992). He also worked with director Spike Lee on films like School Daze (1988) and Do the Right Thing (1989). His big breakthrough came when he played Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino's crime drama Pulp Fiction (1994). For this role, he won a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has continued to work with Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino on many other films.
He is also widely known for playing the Jedi Mace Windu in the Star Wars movies (1999–2005). He also plays Nick Fury in many Marvel Cinematic Universe films. His first appearance as Nick Fury was in Iron Man (2008). He has also voiced Frozone in the Pixar animated films The Incredibles (2004) and Incredibles 2 (2018). Jackson has appeared in many other big movies. These include Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Coach Carter (2005), and Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014).
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Early Life and Education
Jackson was born on December 21, 1948, in Washington, D.C.. He grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His father lived away from the family and passed away. Jackson was raised by his mother, who worked in a factory, and by his grandparents. According to DNA tests, Jackson has family roots in the Benga people of Gabon. He became a citizen of Gabon in 2019. When he was a child, he had a stutter. He learned to pretend to be other people who did not stutter to help with this.
Jackson went to several schools that were separated by race. He graduated from Riverside High School in Chattanooga. In school, he played musical instruments like the French horn and flute in the orchestra. He first planned to study marine biology at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. However, he joined a local acting group to earn extra credit for a class. He then discovered his love for acting and changed his major to drama. He graduated in 1972.
After Martin Luther King Jr. passed away in 1968, Jackson attended his funeral. He then joined a protest march for equal rights. In 1969, Jackson and other students demanded changes in the school's curriculum and how it was run. He later returned to college and earned his degree in drama in 1972.
Acting Career
Early Roles and Theater Work
Jackson first studied marine biology and then architecture before choosing drama. He began acting on stage in plays like Home and A Soldier's Play. He also appeared in some TV movies. His first movie role was in the independent film Together for Days (1972). In 1976, Jackson moved to New York City. For the next ten years, he acted in many stage plays. These included the first performances of The Piano Lesson and Two Trains Running. To earn money while auditioning, he worked as a security guard.
Rising to Fame
After a play in 1981, Jackson met director Spike Lee. Lee cast him in small roles in School Daze (1988) and Do the Right Thing (1989). Jackson also worked as a stand-in for Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show. Early in his film career, he was guided by actor Morgan Freeman.
Jackson had a small role in the 1990 film Goodfellas. He then appeared in Jungle Fever as a character dealing with addiction. Jackson said this role felt very real to him. His performance was so good that he won a special "Supporting Actor" award at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. After this, Jackson appeared in comedies like Strictly Business and dramas like Juice. He also worked with director Steven Spielberg in 1993's Jurassic Park.
Career Breakthrough
In 1994, Quentin Tarantino asked Jackson to play Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction. Jackson was surprised because the part was written just for him. Pulp Fiction was Jackson's thirtieth film, and it made him famous worldwide. Critics praised his performance. Entertainment Weekly wrote that Jackson "just about lights fires with his gremlin eyes." He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Role.
After Pulp Fiction, Jackson received many scripts. He then starred in two successful movies: Die Hard with a Vengeance with Bruce Willis, and A Time to Kill. In A Time to Kill, he played a father on trial. For this role, Jackson won an NAACP Image Award.
Jackson quickly became a box office star. In 1997, he had three main roles. He worked with Tarantino again in Jackie Brown. For this, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival. In 1998, he worked with Sharon Stone and Dustin Hoffman in Sphere. He also starred with Kevin Spacey in The Negotiator. In 1999, Jackson starred in the horror film Deep Blue Sea. He also played Jedi Master Mace Windu in George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Jackson said he was excited to be part of the Star Wars story.
Becoming an Established Actor
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On June 13, 2000, Jackson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the 2000s, he played a Marine colonel in Rules of Engagement. He co-starred with Bruce Willis again in Unbreakable. He also starred in the 2000 remake of the film Shaft. He played both of these characters again in 2019 in the movies Glass and Shaft. In 2002, he returned for Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. His character, Mace Windu, became more important. Jackson suggested that Mace Windu have a purple lightsaber so he would stand out in battle. Jackson also played an NSA agent with Vin Diesel in XXX. In 2003, Jackson worked with John Travolta in Basic and with Colin Farrell in S.W.A.T..
In 2004, Jackson voiced the superhero Frozone in the animated film The Incredibles. This film was very popular. He also made a small appearance in another Quentin Tarantino film, Kill Bill: Volume 2.
In 2005, he starred in the sports drama Coach Carter. He played a coach who taught his players that education was more important than basketball. Jackson's performance was praised. He also returned for two sequels: XXX: State of the Union and the final Star Wars prequel film, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. On November 4, 2005, he received an Achievement in Acting Award at the Hawaii International Film Festival.
On January 30, 2006, Jackson was honored with a hand and footprint ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. He said he chooses roles that are "exciting to watch" and have an "interesting character." His second film of the year, Snakes on a Plane, became very popular even before it was released. Jackson chose to be in the film just because of its title. On December 2, 2006, Jackson won the German Bambi Award for International Film. In 2007, he narrated Farce of the Penguins, a spoof of March of the Penguins. He also starred in Black Snake Moan and the horror film 1408. In 2008, Jackson voiced Mace Windu again in the CGI film Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He also starred in Lakeview Terrace and Soul Men.
Career Expansion
In 2008, he played the villain in The Spirit. In 2009, he narrated parts of the World War II film Inglourious Basterds. In 2010, he starred in the drama Mother and Child. He also played a police officer in The Other Guys with Dwayne Johnson.
Jackson has appeared in many films with famous rappers. He has also been in five films with actor Bruce Willis.
In 2002, Marvel Comics created their "Ultimate" version of Nick Fury to look like Jackson. Jackson, who reads comic books, noticed this. His agents contacted the publisher, who promised to cast him as Fury in future movies. In the 2008 film Iron Man, he made a brief appearance as Nick Fury after the credits. In 2009, Jackson signed a deal with Marvel Studios to play Nick Fury in nine movies. These included Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers. He continued to play the role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). In 2018 and 2019, Jackson appeared as Fury in the Avengers sequels Infinity War and Endgame. He also starred as a younger Fury in Captain Marvel with Brie Larson.
More recently, Jackson appeared in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012) and The Hateful Eight (2015). He also starred in Kong: Skull Island (2017). In 2019, Jackson played his Unbreakable character Mr. Glass in Glass. He also reprised his Shaft role in Shaft. In 2019, he appeared in Unicorn Store and had a big role as Fury in Spider-Man: Far From Home. He also made guest appearances as Fury on the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2013 and 2014.
Recent Work and Theater Return
In 2020, he appeared in the TV documentary series Enslaved. He also appeared in the 2021 movie Spiral: From the Book of Saw with Chris Rock. After not being on stage for 11 years, Jackson returned to Broadway. He played Doaker Charles in a new version of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson in 2022. His wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, directed this production. For his performance, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He also played Nick Fury again in the Disney+ series Secret Invasion and in The Marvels, which is a sequel to Captain Marvel. In 2024, Jackson had a small role in the spy comedy Argylle.
Jackson is set to produce a live-action movie based on Afro Samurai. He will also play Sho'nuff in a remake of The Last Dragon. He is also expected to appear with Pierce Brosnan in Unholy Trinity. Filming for Last Meals began in late 2023. In June 2025, it was announced that a new series called NOLA King, a spin-off of Tulsa King, would star Jackson. His character will be introduced in the third season of Tulsa King.
Other Appearances
Jackson is known for his many voice roles. He voiced Whiplash in Turbo (2013). He was also the voice of the main character in the anime series Afro Samurai (2007). He voiced Frank Tenpenny in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004). He also narrated the documentary I Am Not Your Negro (2016).
Jackson has appeared in several TV shows, music videos, and audiobooks. He had a small part in the Public Enemy music video for "911 Is a Joke". He voiced Gin Rummy in the animated series The Boondocks. He also guest-starred as himself in an episode of the BBC/HBO show Extras. Jackson has hosted many awards shows, including the MTV Movie Awards and the ESPYs. In 2006, he provided the voice of God for The Bible Experience, an New Testament audiobook. He also recorded the Audible.com audiobook of Go the ... to Sleep.
Jackson has appeared in commercials for Capital One and Sky Broadband. He also played Nick Fury in an ad for the video game Marvel Snap. He released a song about social justice with other artists, focusing on violence in America. Jackson was a special guest in Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl LIX halftime show in 2025.
Box-office Success
By the 1990s, a company called A.C. Neilson E.C.I. found that Jackson had appeared in more films than any other actor. These films earned $1.7 billion in the U.S. By 2011, films with Jackson in a main or supporting role had earned between $2.81 billion and $4.91 billion in North America. This made him one of the highest-earning actors. The 2009 edition of The Guinness World Records stated that Jackson was the world's highest-earning actor, with $7.42 billion from 68 films. As of 2022, according to the Golden Globes, this total has grown to more than $27 billion from 152 movies. This makes him the highest-earning actor of all time.
Audiobooks
- 2011: Adam Mansbach: Go the ... to Sleep, publisher: BRILLIANCE CORP, ISBN: 978-1-4558-4165-3
- 2014: Chester Himes: A Rage in Harlem, publisher: BRILLIANCE CORP, ISBN: 978-1-4915-1908-0
Personal Life
In 1980, Jackson married actress and producer LaTanya Richardson. They met while attending Morehouse College. They have a daughter named Zoe, born in 1982. In 2009, they started their own charity to support education. Jackson enjoys watching his own movies in cinemas. He also collects action figures of the characters he plays, like Jules Winnfield, Shaft, Mace Windu, and Frozone.
Jackson is bald but often wears wigs for his roles. He said he started shaving his head when he began losing his hair. He usually gets to choose his own hairstyles for each character. He often wears a Kangol hat in public.
Jackson loves to play golf. His movie contracts often include a clause that allows him to play golf during filming. He has played in charity golf tournaments to help raise money for children. He is a big basketball fan, supporting the Toronto Raptors and the Harlem Globetrotters. Jackson also supports the English football team Liverpool FC and the Irish football team Bohemian FC. He is also a fan of the Atlanta Falcons.
He became a citizen of Gabon in 2019 after a DNA test linked him to the country's Benga ethnic group.
Politics and Activism
Jackson has been active in politics. He campaigned for Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic Primary. He said that Obama represented what he was told he could be growing up. He also said, "I voted for Barack because he was black. That's why other folks vote for other people—because they look like them."
In June 2013, Jackson started a campaign to raise money to fight Alzheimer's disease. As part of this, he read different monologues written by fans. In August 2013, he started a vegan diet for health reasons. He lost weight and praised the diet. He also launched a campaign called "One for the Boys" to teach men about testicular cancer.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jackson encouraged people to wear face masks. He also encouraged those who had recovered from COVID-19 to donate blood. He appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to read a satirical book that promoted social distancing.
Jackson supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election. He spoke at one of her campaign rallies in October 2024.
Filmography
Awards and Honors
Jackson has received many awards for his acting. At the 44th Cannes Film Festival, he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his role in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991). He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Pulp Fiction (1994). He was also nominated for an Academy Award for that role. At the 48th Berlin International Film Festival, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor for Jackie Brown (1997). In 2021, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave Jackson an Academy Honorary Award. This award recognized him as "A cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide." At the 12th Annual Governors Awards in 2022, his friend and fellow actor Denzel Washington presented him with his Oscar.
See also
In Spanish: Samuel L. Jackson para niños
