Samuel L. Jackson is crediting Bruce Willis for inspiring him to join a film franchise.
Jackson, who co-starred with Willis in “Pulp Fiction,” “Die Hard With a Vengeance,” “Unbreakable,” and “Glass,” said that his longtime collaborator gave him some of the best career advice. “He 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 recalled to Vanity Fair in honor of Willis’ 70th birthday.
While on the “Die Hard With a Vengeance” set Willis gave Jackson some examples too: “He said, ‘Arnold’s got ‘Terminator.’ Sylvester’s got Rocky and Rambo. I’ve got John McClane.’ 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 appeared as Nick Fury in a post-credits scene for 2008’s “Iron Man.” He has played the role in a slew of MCU installments, including “The Avengers,” “Captain Marvel,” and most recently the Disney+ series “Secret Invasion.”
“How long do you have to stay alive to make nine movies,” Jackson added. “It’s not the quickest process in the world. I didn’t know they were going to make nine movies in like two and a half years. That’s kind of crazy!”
Jackson previously told the Los Angeles Times that he would rather play Nick Fury than be part of the Oscar race with awards-focused dramas.
“I was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor,” he said. “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.”
Meanwhile, Willis retired from acting in 2022 after announcing his aphasia diagnosis. He later was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, as Willis’ wife Emma Willis and ex-wife Demi Moore shared in 2023.
“FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone. For people under 60, FTD is the most common form of dementia, and because getting the diagnosis can take years, FTD is likely much more prevalent than we know,” the Willis family said. “Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead. As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.”
