It’s safe to say at this point that the most well-known role of actor Samuel L. Jackson’s long and storied career is as Nick Fury in the MCU. But while that will likely remain his most recognizable character of all time, Jackson credits his leading role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 feature Pulp Fiction as the one that proved the biggest game-changer for his career.
Cinephiles are already aware of the lasting effect Pulp Fiction has had on pop culture and filmmaking itself. The film was only the second full-length feature Tarantino had ever made and is widely considered his best work to date. A twisting tale that deftly weaves together violence and humor, Pulp Fiction traces the journey of several characters whose lives intersect in strange and unexpected ways across Los Angeles.
The Role That Rocketed Samuel L. Jackson Into The Mainstream
Jackson plays the role of the devoutly religious but quick-tempered hitman Jules Winnfield, who is tasked with retrieving a briefcase from an underworld associate in the company of his friend and fellow hitman Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta.
The most memorable scenes in Pulp Fiction revolve around Jules and Vincent carrying on a lively conversation about a variety of topics while going about their life of crime in a highly matter-of-fact manner. Since then, many storytellers the world over have sought to replicate this style of cool, laid-back approach to telling a story that Quentin Tarantino had already perfected in the ’90s.
Samuel L. Jackson Becomes The Coolest Guy On The Planet
At the time, Samuel L. Jackson was doing middling work as a character actor in Hollywood, struggling through bit parts and walk-on roles without breaking through into the mainstream in any significant manner. Then along came the character of Jules Winnfield, and suddenly Hollywood and its audience woke up to the potential of Jackson as a scene-stealing presence.
“It changed my life drastically,” Jackson explained during an interview celebrating the 30th anniversary of Pulp Fiction, going on to add that “this was the particular role where all of a sudden people started thinking I was the coolest motherf**ker on the planet.”
The intense and enduring nature of the popularity of Pulp Fiction meant that Jackson had made an indelible mark on pop culture as Jules. His star continued to rise with an important, and perhaps equally life-changing role in the Die Hard franchise around the same time. Then came another career-defining role as the actor joined the extremely popular Star Wars franchise as Jedi master Mace Windu.
The Next Stage Of Samuel L. Jackson’s Film Career
Thanks to the popularity of those roles, Jackson was able to parley his career in Hollywood into bigger and better things, including leading roles in action movies, and a recurring role in the MCU. Interestingly, the superhero franchise itself paid homage to Jackson’s unforgettable role as Jules by using the character’s most iconic rendition of a bible passage as the epitaph for Nick Fury’s gravestone when the character was supposed to have died in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Jackson’s working relationship with Quentin Tarantino has also matured and evolved over the years, and the actor has been an important part of many of the filmmaker’s most well-known works, including Jackie Brown, The Hateful Eight, and Django Unchained.
Pulp Fiction is now available for streaming on Max.
