The journey from a difficult youth to professional acting: Who is Samuel L. Jackson?

His full name is Samuel Leroy Jackson, he was born on December 21, 1948, in Washington, D.C. He was born as the only child of his mother, Elizabeth Harriett Montgomery, and father, Roy Henry Jackson. Jackson's father, whom he had met only twice in his lifetime, lived in the secluded Kansas City, Missouri location, and died of alcoholism a short time later. Jackson was raised in the extended family with his maternal grandparents and his mother, who was a factory worker and later a material buyer in a mental institution. Educated in several segregated schools, Jackson graduated from Riverside High School in Chattanooga and played the horn, piccolo, trumpet, and flute while in the school orchestra.

Originally seeking a degree in marine biology, Jackson attended Morehouse College in Atlanta to study. Here, he became interested in acting and changed his major. In 1969, Jackson and several other students held the school's board of trustees hostage on campus, demanding reform in the school's curriculum and administration. Despite what they wanted, Jackson was charged and convicted of the felony illegal incarceration. Because of this, he was suspended for two years and would return to college in 1972 to pursue a bachelor's degree in drama.

Jackson began acting in several scenes, including "Home" and "A Soldier's Play," which was the inspiration for the 1984 movie. He then acted in several television movies and made his feature film debut with "Together for Days" (1972). Later, Jackson moved to New York City in 1976 and appeared in stage plays for the next decade, including the premieres of "The Piano Lesson" and "Two Trains Running." Jackson, who furthered his addiction to alcohol and cocaine, was therefore unable to advance to Broadway in the two plays he took part in.

He then had minor roles in the musical comedy film "School Daze"(1988) directed by Spike Lee and the comedy-drama film "Do the Right Thing"(1989), also directed by Lee. Among the early films of his career, he appeared in small roles in romantic comedy films such as "Coming to America" (1988) and several television movies. Around this time, he mentored Jackson from Morgan Freeman.

Later, Jackson had a small role as real-life Mafia partner Stacks Edwards in the Martin Scorsese-directed biopic "Goodfellas." Switching to cocaine after several heroin overdoses, Jackson was admitted by his family to a rehabilitation clinic in New York. After completing the process, he was cast as a cocaine addict in the movie "Jungle Fever" directed by Spike Lee. His performance was critically acclaimed and he was given a special "Supporting Actor" award by the 1991 Cannes Film Festival jury. He then appeared in the comedy film "Strictly Business" and the thrillers "Juice" and "Patriot Games".

He made his first leading role in the parody movie "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1" (1993). Later, he acted in the action-comedy "Amos & Andrew" (1993). Later that year, he worked with director Steven Spielberg on the science fiction film "Jurassic Park". That same year, he made a comeback as the criminal Big Don in "True Romance," directed by Tony Scott. The following year, he starred as Jules Winnfield in the detective film "Push Fiction" (1994). Thus, it gained international recognition and received praise from critics. He also received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Academy Awards for his performance. Additionally, he won a Golden Globe nomination and a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Role.

After appearing in some unsuccessful productions, he broke that cycle with the action thriller "Die Hard with a Vengeance". The film received mixed reviews and was a huge commercial win. It also became a cult hit while being the top-grossing movie of the year. Afterwards, he took part as one of the leading roles in the drama film "A Time to Kill" based on the novel of the same name. He earned NAACP Image nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.

Quickly becoming a box office star, Jackson appeared in three lead roles in 1997. He made his debut as a dedicated teacher in the thriller "One Eight Seven" he did. He later starred and executive produced the drama film "Eve's Bayou" directed by Kasi Lemmons. He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature for his performance. The last movie of the year, he again worked with Tarantino on the crime film "Jackie Brown". He won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival and his fourth Golden Globe nomination for his performance.

In 1998, he starred in the thriller "Sphere" with Sharon Stone and Dustin Hoffman. That same year, he co-starred with Kevin Spacey in the action movie "The Negotiator", which portrays a hostage negotiator who resorts to taking hostages himself when falsely accused of murder and embezzlement. The following year, he appeared as Jedi Master Mace Windu in the space opera film "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" directed by George Lucas.

On June 13, 2000, he earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. In the same year, he played a naval colonel on trial in the war movie "Rules of Engagement". Also that year, he co-starred with Bruce Willis in the supernatural thriller "Unbreakable." He then did so by appearing in "Shaft", the 2000 version of the same movie. 

His only film debut in 2001 came with "The Caveman's Valentine," a murder thriller directed by Lemmons, in which he plays a homeless musician. He made it the following year, co-starring with Ben Affleck in the drama thriller "Change Lanes." Seeing his junior supporting role evolve into a major character, he returned with a sequel to "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones".

According to the reviews collected, in 2004 Jackson appeared in both the lowest and highest rated films of his career. The first starred in the thriller "Twisted" with Ashley Judd and Andy Garcia. The film received only 2% approval, with critics calling its performance poor. Later, he voiced the superhero Frozone in the computer-animated movie "The Incredibles." The film received 97% approval, earning his an Annie Award nomination for Best Voice Acting for his performance.

In 2005, he got the lead role in the sports drama "Coach Carter," in which he plays a coach dedicated to teaching his players that education is more important than basketball. Although the film received mixed reviews, Jackson's performance was praised. He later appeared in the sequel "XXX: State of the Union" and in the franchise's movie "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith". In 2005, he was crowned with the Hawaii International Film Festival Award for Achievement in Acting.

Earlier the following year, he was honored with a hand and footprint ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Thus, he became the seventh African-American and 191st actor to be recognized in this way. Later, he appeared in the crime drama mystery film "Freedomland", which was a box office bomb, in which he co-starred with actress Julianne Moore. The second movie of the year, he appeared in the action movie "Snakes on a Plane". The movie, with its title and cast, managed to gain cult movie status months before its release. However, after its release, it became a box office bomb with mixed reviews. Toward the end of the year, Jackson was awarded the German Bambi Award for International Film based on his many film contributions.

In 2007, he appeared in the movie "Black Snake Moan" as a blues player who imprisoned a young sex-addicted woman (Christina Ricci). He then appeared with John Cusack in the horror movie "1408", based on the Stephen King short story. Later that year, he played former boxing heavyweight Bob Satterfield in director Rod Lurie's drama film "Resurrecting the Champ." His career was followed by the 2008 thriller "Lakeview Terrace," in which he played a racist cop who terrorizes an interracial couple.

In 2010, he appeared in the drama film "Mother and Child" and the thriller "Unthinkable". Jackson played a police officer in the opening scenes of the cop comedy movie "The Other Guys" with Dwayne Johnson. He also co-starred with Tommy Lee Jones in a movie adaptation of "The Sunset Limited".

In 2002, Jackson authorized the design of Marvel Comics' character Nick Fury. In February 2009, Jackson signed a nine-film deal with Marvel Studios. With this deal, he appeared as the same character in "Iron Man 2" (2010), "Thor"(2011), "Captain America: The First Avenger"(2011), and "The Avengers"(2012), as well as in all subsequent films. In 2012, he co-starred with Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kerry Washington in Quentin Tarantino's film "Django Unchained."

He also reprized his role in the films "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014) and "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015). In 2018 and 2019, Jackson guest-starred as Fury in its sequels "Infinity War" and "Endgame." That year, he appeared in "Captain Marvel" alongside Brie Larson as a younger, underaged Fury.

He later appeared in the thriller "The Hateful Eight"(2015) directed by Tarantino and the monster movie "Kong: Skull Island"(2017) directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. In 2019, Jackson reprized his role as Mr Glass in the superhero movie "Glass", the sequel, and the role of Shaft in the sequel, "Shaft."

He also appeared in the comedy-drama movie "Unicorn Store" directed by Brie Larson in the same year. Later, he came to the forefront with his role as Fury in the Marvel sequel superhero movie "Spider-Man: Far From Home". Additionally, the ABC television series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." he also reprized the role of Fury in a small role.

In 2020, he starred in the television documentary series "Enslaved". The following year, he co-starred with Chris Rock in the horror movie "Spiral" directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. The film was both commercially and critically acclaimed. After eleven years of absence from the theater, Jackson returned as Doaker Charles in a re-enactment of August Wilson's play "The Piano Lesson" with John David Washington and Danielle Brooks. He won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play nomination for his performance in the 2022 play directed by Jackson's wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson.

Jackson is preparing to make a live-action movie adaptation of "Afro Samurai." Additionally, he will appear in the remake of "The Last Dragon" as Sho'nuff. He is set to reprise his role as Nick Fury in the upcoming Disney+ miniseries "Secret Invasion" and its sequel, "The Marvels."

Personal life

In 1980, Jackson married actress and producer LaTanya Richardson, whom he met while studying. The couple has a daughter named Zoe, born in 1982. Jackson lives with his family in Los Angeles.

Jackson is a keen basketball fan, supporting the Toronto Raptors and Harlem Globetrotters. He also likes to wear wigs in movies despite being bald. In addition, he took part in many campaigns, aid fund and donation events for various institutions, organizations, associations and societies. Here, in addition to providing material and moral support, he also gives labor and time. Jackson, who started a vegan diet in August 2013 for health reasons, attributed his 40 lb (18 kg) weight loss to his diet.

In the 2009 edition of the Guinness World Records, which uses a different calculation to determine movie revenue, Jackson reported that he was the world's highest-grossing actor, with 68 movies grossing. Then, according to data collected as of 2022, he has grossed more than $27 billion, which he made in a total of 152 films. Thus, he became the highest-grossing actor and the second-highest-grossing person in film overall.