Source: Power 105 / Power 105
Samuel L. Jackon’s been the baddest muthaf*ckin’ actor in Hollywood ever since he was reading Ezekiel 25:17 to fools before blowing their heads off in Pulp Fiction. Over the decades he’s become a prolific and fan favorite actor who seems to age at a snails pace (healthiest looking 70-year-old we know).
Today the man of a thousand roles sat down with The Breakfast Club to promote his upcoming sequel to Shaft and spoke about his career, family, and politics.
Talking about how being a functioning crack addict affected his career in it’s early stages to how he’s been able to remain married for 40 years, Mr. Jackson has a lifetime of wisdom to share with anyone willing to listen.
Here are the 10 things we learned from Samuel L. Jackson on The Breakfast Club.
1. Vegan Fail
Sam says he tried to go vegan for 7 months but lost so much weight he almost lost a movie role behind it. “They said ‘If you don’t gain 15, 20 pounds we gonna have to recast. So I went straight to Shake Shack and got my life back together.”
2. MAGA BS
Having been born 20 years before the Civil Rights movement, Samuel L. Jackson knows what it’s like to live in “apartheid America” and recognizes that the whole “Make America Great Again” notion isn’t anything more than a call for old school racist ways of life.
3. From Rehab to Hollywood
Sam admits that when he started filming Jungle Fever he was only a week removed from rehab, “So I didn’t really need makeup. I was still detoxing.” He says he was so convincing on set that the Fruit of Islam tried to keep him from the buffet table thinking he was still a drug addict.
4. Wakeup Call
Talking about rehab, Sam says it was his wife Mrs. Jackson that convinced him he needed help after finding him passed out on the floor. Once there his drug counselors tried to keep him from playing a crackhead in Jungle Fever fearing that it would trigger his addiction and he’d fall off the wagon. Luckily he saw the bigger picture and gave audiences a performance to remember and himself a career that’s spanned decades.
5. No Regrets
Unlike many actors, Mr. Jackson says there isn’t a film that he regrets passing up. In fact he says he dodged a few bullets after seeing those films made. Unfortunately he didn’t give us any names or titles.
6. Shaft
When Samuel L. Jackson was originally approached about doing a new Shaft he asked “Why?” After speaking with John Singleton he agreed as long as Richard Roundtree was in it “so they’ll know I’m not replacing him. He’s still John Shaft.” He also remembers that Christian Bale was originally the main villain until he convinced the writers that Jeffery “Peoples Hernandez” Wright should be the big bad in the movie. Good analysis.
7. Married Life
This year Samuel L. Jackson and his wife will celebrate 40 years of wedding bliss. One of his secrets to a successful marriage is to have “amnesia” from time to time and admits that it’s been fairly easy to remain faithful all these years as he likes to be alone for the most part. “Once I got sober it was easier for me to be comfortable with me. I didn’t need to validate my existence with other people or other things or substances or praise from people.” Props.
8. Nick Fury
When Sam saw that Marvel had redone the Nick Fury character to his likeness he had his agent call Marvel to inquire about the move. That’s when they spilled the beans and told them that they were planning on making movies with these characters and wanted Samuel L. Jackson to be a part of them. That’s when he landed his 9-picture deal.
9. Django Unchained
Regardless of how most fans feel about his role of Stephen in Django, Sam says “I love Stephen” and that “I did stuff in that movie that’s not in the movie that would’ve really made you mad.” Not sure we’re ready to find out what he’s talking about. Keep that director’s cut of Django Unchained under lock and seal, Quentin.
10. 2020
Though he’s part of the resistance and wants to see Donald Trump out of office, Sam admits that there isn’t a democratic candidate out that’s won him over. He does say he’s going to vote for whatever democratic candidate wins the nomination regardless because he knows what’s at stake in 2020.
