Samuel L. Jackson turns 75

Actors - Samuel L. Jackson turns 75

With a bold eye patch as Marvel character Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson is constantly striking out on the big screen. Since November, he has been fighting alongside Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) in the superhero film "The Marvels". Last June, the espionage series "Secret Invasion" from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was launched on the streaming service Disney+. In it, Jackson took center stage for the first time as Nick Fury.

"I hope I do a good job so they keep me around for quite a while," joked Jackson in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur before the start of the series. "I'll never get tired of playing Nick Fury, there's no question about that," the actor clarified. "I'm almost disappointed that I haven't been in every movie they've made in the last 15 years."

It's been a long road to the superhero films

Jackson, who celebrates his 75th birthday on December 21, should have reassured his fans. No word of retirement, rather Hollywood's box office magnet is holding on to his lucrative place in the Marvel universe. As the combative Nick Fury, who once enlisted Iron Man and Captain America for the powerful organization S.H.I.E.L.D., Jackson has been tirelessly involved since 'Iron Man' (2008), through 'Thor', 'Captain America: The First Avenger' and 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' to 'The Marvels'.

It was a long road to success with superhero films. Samuel Leroy Jackson grew up in the US state of Tennessee in the care of his grandparents and single mother. As a student, he joined the civil rights movement. In New York, he joined the black theater group "Negro Ensemble Company", to which Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington also belonged. He earned his living as a bouncer on the side.

In the thriller "Sea of Love - Melody of Death" (1989) with Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin, Jackson was listed in the credits as "Black Guy" without a name in one of his first film appearances. But things soon took off.

Oscar nomination for the killer in"Pulp Fiction"

For his role as a junkie in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever", he was named Best Supporting Actor at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. Jackson celebrated his big breakthrough three years later as a philosophizing hitman in "Pulp Fiction". By then he was already 45 years old. The quirky role in Quentin Tarantino's ironic and macabre blood orgy earned the actor his first and so far only Oscar nomination.

Tarantino brought him back in front of the camera for "Jackie Brown", which earned Jackson a Silver Bear at the 1998 Berlinale. Jackson was also involved in "Kill Bill 2", "Django Unchained" and "The Hateful 8".

Box office hits such as "Die Hard: Now More Than Ever", "xXx-Triple X", "Shaft" and three "Star Wars" sequels, in which he played Jedi Master Mace Windu, propelled Jackson into the upper echelons of Hollywood.

He really likes the part of Nick Fury

Jackson's long career with over 100 films was recognized with an honorary Oscar in 2022. For him, this was only a small consolation. He often remarked that he also deserved the trophy in competition. In the legal thriller "The Jury" (1996), based on a novel by John Grisham, he gave an Oscar-worthy performance, but many important scenes were simply cut out at the end, Jackson lamented in an interview with the website "Vulture" in July. Under the direction of Joel Schumacher, he played a laborer in the southern states who avenges the brutal rape of his young daughter through vigilante justice.

But instead of chasing an Oscar, he would now rather make films that he enjoys, Jackson told the Los Angeles Times in 2022. "I'd rather be Nick Fury. Or have fun as Mace Windu with a lightsaber in my hand".

Jackson also occasionally appears on the theater stage. He was nominated for one of the coveted Tony Awards this year for his role in the play "The Piano Lesson". The play was directed by his wife LaTanya Richardson, to whom he has been married since 1980. They have a grown-up daughter.

His wife saved him from his addiction in his early years, Jackson told the US magazine "People" in 2022. Instead of leaving him, she insisted that he go to rehab and phoned clinics to find a place for him. For a long time, he mainly lived in the basement of the house they shared in New York, Jackson said - "I was addicted and crazy." The love of his family helped him "to become the man I was meant to be".

At the age of 75, things are continuing apace for the Hollywood veteran. In February, the star-studded agent comedy "Argylle", which he shot with Bryan Cranston and British singer Dua Lipa, among others, is due to be released in US cinemas. The German release of "The Kill Room" is planned for March. The comedy thriller reunites Jackson as a hitman with "Pulp Fiction" star Uma Thurman. And the western "Unholy Trinity" is also already in the can. Jackson filmed this in November with Pierce Brosnan and German actress Veronica Ferres.