Through his work across the history of Marvel movies, the timeline of Star Wars movies and more, Samuel L. Jackson has shown broad range and continued to hone his talent across decades of acting experience. For an actor of his caliber, it’s kind of surprising that he’s only ever been nominated once for an Academy Award (outside of the honorary statue he brought home in 2021).
Some might stoke a passionate defenses for the veteran of the Marvel and Star Wars cinematic universes; however, the man himself isn’t bent out of shape one bit. In conversation with The L.A. Times, the noted f-bomb dropper admits that the annual chase for that golden path doesn’t necessarily motivate him. So, what does keep Samuel L. Jackson going in his career pursuits?
I was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor. My yardstick of success is my happiness: Am I satisfied with what I’m doing? I’m not doing statue-chasing movies. You know [whispers]: “If you do this movie, you’ll win an Oscar.” No, thanks. I’d rather be Nick Fury. Or having fun being Mace Windu with a lightsaber in my hand.
Knowing that The Avengers alum values the blockbuster entries in the pantheon of the best Samuel L. Jackson movies as much as any actor would treasure an award-winning act is unsurprising. Even when you’re watching Jackson at work in something like the Star Wars movies, you can see that he’s having fun with what he does.
Further explaining why he doesn’t pay too much mind to the Oscars, Jackson also admitted to no regrets letting “statue chasing” projects go in favor of other projects. Providing a self evaluation of his mythically awesome career, the Jurassic Park co-star pretty much summed it up in a manner most fans would totally agree with. In Samuel L. Jackson’s eyes, he’s very quotable. In fact he’s…
“..the guy who does the lines that people see on T-shirts.
Honestly, there is not a more perfect summary of what you could call the Jackson Oeuvre. And that’s something that we’ve seen the Argylle cast member wear rather proudly on his chest, as seen through several Samuel L. Jackson t-shirt photos on social media. Hell, you could even put the quote mentioned above on its own t-shirt, in the font of his most recognizable projects, and it would probably sell quite well.
Seeing as he’s a fan of the many times characters like John Shaft, Mace Windu, and even his solo Academy Award nominated role as Pulp Fiction’s Jules Winfield pop up on such garments, it would perhaps make even more sense to chase those sort of projects. But possibly the best thing about Jackson is that he takes roles across the board, from popcorn flicks to b-movies, to awards contenders and big budget successes. He’s a stable, solid player at the box office with a great reputation for fun.
Oh, and if anyone’s actually made Mr. Jackson’s perfect Secret Invasion t-shirt, make yourself known. Whatever 2025 movie release next gets to benefit from his exceptional talents is probably going to need some fresh one-liners for more memes and tees. Maybe it’ll even be an Oscars contender this time.