- Samuel L. Jackson told Vanity Fair that Bruce Willis advised him in 1994 to get a lead blockbuster role.
- He said Willis thought actors needed a beloved character to fall back on to have a stable career.
- Jackson later followed his advice, getting a role as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Samuel L. Jackson said Bruce Willis once advised him to get cast as a beloved character in a franchise to have a stable career.
In an interview with Vanity Fair for a feature celebrating Willis’ 70th birthday, Jackson recalled a career conversation they had while shooting “Die Hard With A Vengeance” in 1994.
“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.
Willis then mentioned his role as John McClane in the “Die Hard” series, according to Jackson, as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s role in the “Terminator” movies and Sylvester Stallone’s lead role in “Rocky” and “Rambo” as examples of the type of franchise characters Jackson should pursue.
Jackson eventually found that character when he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the post-credit scene of 2008’s “Iron Man.”
Jackson said: “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 has appeared in 12 Marvel movies as Fury, the spy who helped form the Avengers and often advises the main superheroes. He’s also reprised the role in two TV series and three games.
Jackson got his first lead Marvel role in the 2023 Disney+ series “Secret Invasion,” although fans and critics panned the show.
It’s not been reported how much Jackson has earned from his Marvel career, but considering it’s a billion-dollar franchise, it will not be a small amount.
Jackson has also had box-office success elsewhere. He’s starred in numerous other hit franchises, including the “Star Wars” prequel movies, which grossed $2.5 billion in total, according to Box Office Mojo.
In 2017, Box Office Mojo reported that Jackson had the biggest total box office across all his films of any actor, with a gross of $5.8 billion in the US and $13.4 billion worldwide.
Starring in franchises is not the only route to a stable career in Hollywood.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Meryl Streep are among the actors who generally avoid starring in sequels and franchises but have had long and well-paid careers without them.
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