Getting to know Samuel L Jackson .
Hollywood’s favourite badass returns as another hitman – but this one’s in need of some protection himself
HE SWEARS BY IT “I stuttered really, really, really bad for a long time – to the point that I stopped speaking for almost a year in school,” says the Django Unchained actor, who grew up as an only child and was raised by his factory worker mother, Elizabeth, and his grandparents.
But he found a cure for his problem – saying “motherf**ker”. “It clicked a switch that stopped the d-d-d-d, b-b-b-b,” the 68-year-old actor said in an interview. No wonder he’s such a natural at playing expletive-loving tough guys! ONGOING BATTLE
The Oscar nominee had a lengthy and successful career as a stage actor in New York before getting into film. “I had a good theatre reputation. Granted, I was a drug addict and I was out of my mind a lot of the time, but I had a good reputation,” he says.
He bagged his first major movie role at age 40 in 1989’s Do The Right Thing. He eventually quit drugs after completing a stint in rehab – two weeks before playing a drug addict in the film Jungle Fever (1991).
He says landing the role that catapulted him to fame at age 45 – that of hitman Jules Winnfield in director Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994) – could only happen once he’d kicked the habit. But his battle with addiction is an ongoing one.
“People who’ve been through what I went through are always going to be tempted. I have to remind myself every day that I can’t have a drink.”
SWORN ENEMIES
In his latest film, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Samuel plays hitman Darius whose arch-enemy, played by RYAN REYNOLDS, is one of the world’s top bodyguards. The men have to put aside their differences when the bodyguard is tasked with guarding Darius’ life because he’s a witness in a trial.
FATHERHOOD
The Avengers star has spoken openly about growing up without a father and recalls meeting his alcoholic dad, Roy, only twice in his life. “My dad was an absentee dad, so it was always important to me that I was part of my daughter’s life, and she deserves two parents, which is part of the rationale behind us staying married for 37 years,” says Samuel, who met his wife, actress LATANYA RICHARDSON (67), at college. Their 35-year-old daughter, ZOE Jackson (middle), is a TV producer. “She has a strong will, work ethic and sense of self,” he says proudly. FAST FACTS He has an astounding 200 acting credits to his name. The “L” in his name stands for Leroy. He was active in the American Civil Rights movement and served as an usher at Martin Luther King Jnr’s funeral in 1968. The purple light sabre he brandished in the Star Wars film Revenge of the Sith (2005) was engraved with the words, “Bad motherf**ker” – an ode to his Pulp Fiction character, Jules, who had those words written on his wallet. He loves golf and has a special clause written into his movie contracts that he’s allowed to play golf twice a week.