By Movieguide® Contributor
Samuel L. Jackson recalled how long-time friend Bruce Willis inspired him to take on the role of Nick Fury and join the MCU as one of its backbone characters.
“[Willis] told me, ‘Hopefully you’ll be able to find a character that, when you make bad movies and they don’t make any money, you can always go back to this character everybody loves,’” Jackson told Vanity Fair.
“He said, ‘Arnold’s got TERMINATOR. Sylvester’s got ROCKY and RAMBO. I’ve got John McClane,’” Jackson continued. “I’m like, ‘Oh, Ok.’ And it didn’t occur to me until I got that Nick Fury role — and I had a nine-picture deal to be Nick Fury — that, ‘Oh, I’m doing what Bruce said. I’ve got this character now.’”
Jackson first joined the MCU in 2008, appearing in a post-credit scene of IRON MAN, pitching the Avengers to Tony Stark. Jackson remains in the franchise to this day, most recently appearing in 2023’s THE MARVELS.
Joining the MCU has, at this point, been a defining moment in Jackson’s career and is one of the roles he will be most remembered for. While playing Nick Fury has lowered his esteem in the eyes of Hollywood elite, he wouldn’t even consider changing out the role for a more prestigious one.
“I was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor,” Jackson told the L.A. Times in 2022. “My yardstick of success is my happiness: Am I satisfied with what I’m doing? I’m not doing statue-chasing movies. You know: ‘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.”
Ironically, more and more people in the industry believe that these fun, popular roles should be more valued by the Academy, as millions of fans are disappointed when their favorite movie of the year is not even considered for an award.
Since 2014, viewership of the Oscars has been more than cut in half, with this year’s edition of the award pulling 19.7 million viewers — despite being available on streaming for the first time — compared to 2014’s 40 million member audience. Rather than honoring movies that perform particularly well at the box office — something that is harder than ever to do — the judges vote based on a criteria that isolates the general public.
Many are now calling for certain awards to have a public vote as part of their process so the public has a say in who receives the award.
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