Samuel L Jackson is a man no one wants to mess with. Whether it is MCU’s Nick Fury or Stephen from Django Unchained, the actor can nail any role with a finesse few artists have. But apart from his acting skills, Sam Jackson is also known for speaking his mind.
Whether it is telling MCU fans to watch more films that are out of the franchise or saying motherf***er whenever he wants, the actor shows his personality every time. But one time, the actor shocked everyone when he straight-up said that he won’t do a film if they didn’t change its name.
Samuel L Jackson Almost Walked Out Of A Classic Film Due To Its Bland-Name
Samuel L Jackson has starred in multiple hit films, but it can’t be denied that his role in Snakes on a Plane stands out to most. But many don’t know that the actor almost walked out of the movie because it originally had the blandest name possible. During an interview on the Pardon My Take podcast, Jackson revealed:
“The first day I got there, they were passing out new pages, and they gave me this script that said Pacific Flight 121, and I’m like, ‘The f*** is this?'”
Everyone who has seen the 2006 action-thriller film directed by David R Ellis, knows that it’s about a plane where dozens of poisonous snakes are let loose to murder a trial witness. Jackson stars as an FBI agent who is on that plane. Now, it’s understandable why the production company, New Line Cinema, wanted to change the name of the film.
After all the title revealed what the movie was actually about. But Jackson disagreed and said that it was exactly why they should lean into it. The actor said, “You exactly want to do that! I’m not here to do Pacific Flight 121, I’m here to do Snakes on a Plane, and if that’s the name of the movie, I quit.”
The actor was right to press the makers about the name of the film because it went on to become a cult classic and grossed $62 million globally on a $33 million budget.
How Does Samuel L Jackson Get Into Character?
In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Samuel L Jackson revealed how he prepares for his films. The host asked him if he does method-acting to stay in the character even off-set and the actor replied that he doesn’t do any of that. Why? Because he does his homework.
He said:
“I’ve done all that at home; I know what I’m gonna do when I get to work. It’s easy, you know, you don’t shoot more than two and a half pages a day. Piece of cake. You don’t have to learn anything from beginning to end, even though I know all the lines. I know everybody’s lines. When I go to work, I have fun.”
It’s clear that he has fun in the films he does, and yet every time he manages to deliver a performance that shocks everyone. His Oscar win for Pulp Fiction speaks about his acting caliber.
Snakes on a Plane is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Pardon My Take and Howard Stern
