Jackson, Samuel L. (1948-…), is a popular American actor. He is known for playing a variety of characters, including villains, detectives, street characters, and action heroes.
Jackson received a special jury prize at the Cannes Festival as best supporting actor for his performance as a crack cocaine addict in the motion picture Jungle Fever (1991). He gained notice for his performance as Jules Winnfield, the philosophizing hit man in the gangster film Pulp Fiction (1994).
Samuel Leroy Jackson was born on Dec. 21, 1948, in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1972, with a bachelor’s degree in dramatic arts. That year, Jackson made his first feature-film appearance in Together for Days. In 1976, Jackson moved to New York City, where he performed in theater with the Negro Ensemble Company for over a decade.
Jackson has appeared in more than 100 motion pictures. His other notable films include: Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995); The Long Kiss Goodnight and A Time to Kill (both 1996); Eve’s Bayou and Jackie Brown (both 1997); The Negotiator (1998), a 2000 remake of the 1971 film Shaft; Changing Lanes (2002); Coach Carter (2005); Black Snake Moan and Snakes on a Plane (both 2006); Resurrecting the Champ and 1408 (both 2007); Lakeview Terrace, The Spirit, and Soul Men (all 2008); Mother and Child (2009); Django Unchained (2012); a 2013 remake of the 2003 South Korean film Oldboy; Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014); Chi-Raq and The Hateful Eight (both 2015); and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016).
Jackson starred as Jedi Master Mace Windu in the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, a series of three movies set before the original Star Wars (1977). The trilogy included Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace (1999); Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones (2002); and Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith (2005). Jackson played the war hero Colonel Nick Fury in a number of superhero movies, such as Iron Man (2008) and Captain Marvel (2019). He also provided his voice for the animated films The Incredibles (2004) and Turbo (2013).
Jackson made his first Broadway theater appearance in 2011 in the play The Mountaintop. In it, he played the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
