Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L. Jackson’s collaboration over the years has churned out some great performances from the actor. Jackson is presented uniquely and interestingly every time he stars in a Tarantino flick. The actor got to play some of the most entertaining characters in his career including Jules in Pulp Fiction, Odell in Jackie Brown, and Stephen in Django Unchained.
Tarantino films are known for their entertaining tone and inclusion of hard R language. They also include calling black people the N-word. This led to some sections of the audience calling him racist. However, Jackson clapped back at the haters and defended the characterization of black characters in his films.
Samuel L. Jackson Criticizes People Calling Quentin Tarantino Racist
Samuel L. Jackson has a deep respect and admiration for Quentin Tarantino‘s works. They are good friends in real life and Tarantino has included Jackson in four of his films, be it a leading or supporting character. The director has always given the actor some of the best roles of his career and thus he is calling out haters of the director criticizing him based on an illogical reason.
Anyone familiar with Tarantino knows that he likes to make his films entertaining along with a hard edge that includes the use of profanity and violence. Some people do not like the use of the slang ‘n***er’ in some of his films and call him racist. Jackson finds that criticism problematic as he states that the black characters in his films are made to be the smartest ones in his films.
He further claims that he treats his black characters with respect and dignity which leads to them becoming the standout performer in all of his films. If Tarantino was racist, Jackson asserts that he would not have written the characters that way. He said, (via YouTube)
“He (Quentin) has enough problem being vilified himself as a racist because he uses n***er in his scripts that much, or puts those kinds of words in a character’s mouth. I always tell people… I can’t understand why they can’t look at his work and realize that every character he’s given me has pretty much been the smartest character in the film.
“(They) have the most dignity and respect and kinda runs things… Not a fool of any sort and understands a whole lot of what’s going on in life and in the world. For (Quentin) to write characters like that for me would be impossible for a racist to do.”
Jackson’s breakout role was in Tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction. He went on to star in three other films including Jackie Brown, Django Unchained, and The Hateful Eight. Their collaboration has been highly celebrated among cinephiles and they might reunite for Tarantino’s last film The Movie Critic.
Django Unchained Was Samuel L. Jackson’s Best Shot at an Oscar
Every Samuel L. Jackson-Quentin Tarantino reunion is awaited by cinephiles who can’t wait to witness another wild and entertaining film created by the duo. Additionally, Jackson is always on top in every Tarantino film and does something different each time. The actor told The LA Times that every role in his collaboration with Tarantino has given him an opportunity to get an Oscar nomination.
He further claimed that Django Unchained was his best shot at winning the Oscar. He played Stephen, a head slave of the plantation who is incredibly vicious and evil. Jackson jokes that the Oscar usually rewards black actors who play vile roles. He said,
“Everything I’ve done for Quentin has a moment that’s given me an opportunity, from ‘Jackie Brown’ to The Hateful Eight to ‘Django [Unchained]. Django’ was probably my best shot [at an Oscar] because it’s the most evil character I’ve ever played and they generally reward Black people for playing horrendous sh*t.”
Jackson recently starred in Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle. He will next be seen voicing the character Vic in The Garfield Movie. He will also star in the action thriller Damaged opposite Vincent Cassel.
