Samuel L. Jackson has never won an Oscar, only having received an honorary one, but he tells Vulture he should have won the award, at least, four times:
“I can name four instances where I could have won or should have won or should have been nominated, but I’m fine with it.”
This isn’t the first time Jackson has questioned the Academy’s snubbing of his work. He was justifiably angry about it when he spoke to the L.A. Times in a 2022 interview. As it stands, Jackson has only had one Oscar nomination in his career (“Pulp Fiction”) — how can that be?
Jackson is a great actor, a legendary one, and I’ve been a fan of his work for a long time. He’s one of the greats, even if he’s had a knack of choosing very bad movies (“Snakes on a Plane” is not one of them!)
Scrolling through his filmography, he seems to have made it a priority to star in a lot of cash cows. He likes blockbusters and he’s been in a ton of them. This has also made him the most bankable star in Hollywood history. Jackson holds the record for most films over $100 million at the worldwide box office by an actor with a show-stopping 45 to his name.
Now, let’s play a game. What are the four movies that Jackson seems to be referring to in the Vulture interview?
Opinion: The four performances that should have won Jackson an Oscar are crystal clear to me, all flat-out brilliant turns, they are Gator in “Jungle Fever,” Jules Winnfield in “Pulp Fiction,” Stephen in “Django Unchained” and Ordell in “Jackie Brown.”
Also, a major shout out for his turn in the incredibly underrated ‘90s noir “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” not to mention “The Negotiator,” “Unbreakable,” and “Hard Eight.” Not Oscar-worthy, but exemplary work from one of our very best actors.