Samuel L. Jackson Recalls Bruce Willis Telling Him to Find a Character He Can “Go Back to” When Films Flop

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Sometimes you should take your friend’s advice.

In a story published by Vanity Fair to celebrate Bruce Willis’ 70th birthday, Samuel L. Jackson reminisced about the advice his Die Hard With a Vengeance co-star, Bruce Willis, shared with him during the filming of the movie in the ’90s.

Jackson recalls that he was told, ‘I hope you can develop a character so beloved that when your films fail to earn profits, you can return to this character.’ He added, ‘Arnold has The Terminator, Sylvester has Rocky and Rambo. I have John McClane.'” (This version attempts to simplify the structure of the original sentence while maintaining its meaning.)

Initially, Jackson responded with “Oh, alright,” when the opportunity presented itself, but it wasn’t until he secured a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Nick Fury that the realization hit him: “I didn’t fully grasp it until I was cast as Nick Fury — and signed a nine-picture deal to play him — that I realized, oh, I’m following Bruce’s advice. I now have this character.

For the first time in the Marvel universe, the Oscar-winning actor made an appearance in Iron Man, which was released in 2008. This came during the movie’s post-credit scene. Throughout the years, he played a significant role in more than ten films as the head of the Avengers, known as Fury. Some of his other notable movies include The Hateful Eight, The Incredibles, Django Unchained, and Unbreakable from 2000, where he worked alongside Bruce Willis again. With a career spanning over 150 films, his movies have grossed an impressive $14 billion at the box office.

In an article for The Hollywood Reporter in 2019, Jackson mentioned that he paused filming Die Hard to attend the world premiere of Pulp Fiction at Cannes. He recollected thinking at the time, “This movie is alright, but Die Hard is going to transform your life. This movie won’t change your life.” However, both films ended up having a significant impact.

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2025-03-21 05:24