Hater Hall of Fame: Samuel L. Edition

Samuel L. Jackson, Born December 21, 1948

Samuel Leroy Jackson was born in Washington D.C., and is the only child of Elizabeth Jackson and a deadbeat dad whose name I could not find after a thorough search – Jackson only met his father twice before he died of complications due to alcoholism.  Sam L. grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee with his mother and maternal grandparents, who looked after him while his mother worked in a nearby factory.  Jackson began to perform at young age, which he says was a result of his “pirate” phase: “As a kid I loved Treasure Island. “My favorite pirate movie was The Crimson Pirate with Burt Lancaster. When I was a kid we played pirates in our neighborhood, not sissy stuff like Captain Hook but serious pirates.” Jackson attended several segregated schools when he was younger, and during this time, he also acted in some school plays and played both the french horn and trumpet in the school’s orchestra.  After graduating from Riverside High School, Jackson then moved to Atlanta, Georgia and enrolled at Morehouse College.

Jackson initially went to Morehouse to major in Architecture, but after taking a public speaking class and appearing in one of the university’s plays, he changed it to Drama.  In order to do this, he had to begin taking classes at the college’s sister school, Spellman.  It was here that he met LaTanya Richardson, a fellow acting student whom he would later marry in 1980 – and they remain together to this day.  While at Spellman, Jackson also became involved in the civil rights movement after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.  This involvement led to an incident in 1969 where Jackson and several other student held members of Morehouse’s board of trustees hostage, demanding that the school change its cirriculum and governance.  Although his actions did lead to policy changes within the university, Sam L. was suspended for two years and charged with a second-degree felony.  He would return in 1972 to earn his Bachelor of Arts in Drama.  Soon after graduating, Jackson and his soon-to-be wife LaTanya helped start the Just Us theater company in Atlanta.  He then began to participate in several area plays, which lead to TV appearances and ultimately his feature film debut in the 1972 blaxploitation film Together For Days.

In 1976, Samuel and LaTanya moved to New York City so that they could further pursue their acting careers.  Jackson acted in two plays that would end up on Broadway, but he was not a part of the cast (Roc took his place) as a result of problems he developed with alcohol and cocaine addiction.  He was cast in a minimal amount of roles during this early part of his career – including a cameo in one of the funniest movies ever – before being introduced to director Spike Lee.  The director cast Sam L. in his next two movies, School Daze and Do the Right Thing, and he would then play a minor part in the 1990 mobster flick Goodfellas.  After these films, his drug addiction worsened until his family finally entered him into a rehab clinic in New York City.  After successfully completing his stint, Spike Lee once again called on Jackson, this time to play a crack cocaine addict named Gator Purify in the 1991 film Jungle Fever.  This is considered to be his breakout role, which is solidified by the fact that the Cannes Film Festival created a “Best Supporting Actor” award based solely on his performance.

His film career took off after this point, and included arguably his most recognizable role as Jules Winfield in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 masterpiece Pulp Fiction.  This was the role that defined Samuel L. Jackson as the angry, “bad muther fucker” we all know and love, and also the first of many film roles where his character was the straw that stirred the tasty beverage.  Whether he is playing a concerned citizen caught up in a good ol’ John McClane shit storm or an FBI agent taking on some mutha fuckin snakes, on a mutha fuckin plane, Jackson’s performances rarely disappoint.  His energy, which I like to think is fueled by Haterade, along with his on-screen presence has helped Sam L. become one of Hollywood’s most successful and beloved actors – The 2009 Guinness Book of World Records lists him as the world’s highest grossing actor, raking in $7.42 billion in his 68 films.  With at least six upcoming film projects that are either in pre- or post-production, it’s unclear when Jackson will walk away from the big screen – but one thing is clear, he was born to play a hater (Clips contain language).

A screen test from Jackson’s audition for Titanic:

The best part of The Negotiator, a conversation that starts around the one-minute mark:

My favorite scene in any movie, ever: