“Really, motherf*cker? You just took that sh*t from me?” Samuel L. Jackson opened up about his five decades in Hollywood, and in classic Samuel L. fashion, he held no punches.
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Jackson sat down with Vulture to discuss shocking career-defining moments. He revealed he believes a deleted scene from A Time To Kill would have earned him an Oscar. He also explained the origin of his falling out with the critically acclaimed director Spike Lee.
The legendary Laker fan hired Samuel L. Jackson for several films, including School Daze, Jungle Fever and Do The Right Thing. It wasn’t until a dispute over pay for his role in Malcolm X that the dynamic duo severed ties.
Jackson said, “I actually read with most of the people who auditioned for Malcolm X. I was supposed to be the guy that turned Malcolm X on to Islam in prison. I forget who played that role. But it was still down to that Spike Lee scale-plus-10“.
Scale plus 10 refers to a minimum daily or weekly pay rate actors are to receive that was established by the Screen Actors Guild. The 10 represents the 10 percent of an actor’s compensation that will go to their agents.
The Secret Invasion actor impassionately stated, “I’m not going to work for no scale-plus-10.”
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Jackson said their wives, who remained friendly, helped mend their fractured relationship over 20 years.
“[Our] wives would interact often, and we would all end up going to dinner together. Our relationship healed over those dinners and conversations. He told me at dinner he was going to remake Oldboy, and I was like, ‘Can I be in it?’”
The 74-year-old said once they collaborated again, it was as if they never missed a beat.
“It was just like we’d never stopped. He’s very efficient, knows what he wants and doesn’t get in my way artistically–whatever I come with, I come with, and it’s cool.”
Samuel L. Jackson Explains How A Deleted Scene In A Time To Kill Robbed Him Of An Oscar
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey lead then discussed the film edits that shocked him most over his career.
“Really, motherf*cker? You just took that sh*t from me?” he began. “My first day working on that film, I did a speech in a room with an actor and the whole f*cking set was in tears when I finished. I was like, Okay. I’m on the right page.”
Despite the Black excellence, “That sh*t is not in the movie! And I know why it’s not. Because it wasn’t my movie, and they weren’t trying to make me a star. That was one of the first times that I saw that sh*t happen.”
The star explained that sometimes an actor’s performance could be so stellar it overtakes the film.
“There are things that I’ve done in other movies where I said, “Wait a minute. Why did you take that moment out of the movie?” Because the moment, in that movie, it’s bigger than the movie.”
The actor, who grossed over 27 billion dollars worldwide, received an Oscar nomination for Pulp Fiction. He still didn’t take home the golden statue then.
In 2022, he was awarded an Honorary Oscar. The Glass actor says the “honorary” label doesn’t detract from the recognition by The Academy.
“Didn’t feel honorary, just felt like I was getting an Oscar. I earned it. I worked for it. I can possibly name four other instances where I could have won or should have won or should have been nominated, but I’m fine with it. It’s mine. I got it. My name’s on it.”
Yes! The OG deserves his flowers, “And that’s the truth, Ruth.”
