Samuel L. Jackson explains why he’d prefer big-budget Marvel films over Oscar-worthy roles – “My yardstick of success is my happiness”

June 16, 2022 - 6:52 PM IST

Samuel L. Jackson, who received an honorary Academy Award earlier this year, says he would rather focus on making more mainstream films than ones that are typically considered for an Oscar.

Samuel L. Jackson explains why he’d prefer big-budget Marvel films over Oscar-worthy roles – “My yardstick of success is my happiness”

“As jaded as I wanted to be about it, you know thinking, ‘Well, I should have won an Oscar for this or should have won for that and it didn’t happen,’ once I got over it many years ago, it wasn’t a big deal for me,” Jackson said in an interview with Variety. “I always have fun going to the Oscars. I always look forward to getting a gift basket for being a presenter. [Laughs] I give stuff to my relatives; my daughter and my wife would take stuff out. It’s cool…But otherwise, I was past it.”

Samuel L. Jackson, who has spent over 10 years, and counting, playing the MCU stalwart Nick Fury, was previously nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor after playing Jules Winnfield in director Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction. He also talked about the type of film roles he is more interested in pursuing, "I was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor," he said.

"My yardstick of success is my happiness: Am I satisfied with what I'm doing? I'm not doing statue-chasing movies. You know: 'If you do this movie, you'll win an Oscar.' No, thanks. I'd rather be Nick Fury. Or having fun being Mace Windu with a lightsaber in my hand." Jackson first appeared as Nick Fury in a post-credit scene in 2008's Iron Man, the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since then, he has reprised the role in multiple films, including The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Jackson revealed that he’s fine with giving up Oscar roles if it means making films “that people just want to see so they can get out of themselves,” adding, “That’s the guy I chose to be and I’m fine with it. I’m satisfied because that’s who I am. I’m the guy who does the lines that people see on T-shirts. There’s actors who go their whole careers and no one can quote a line they’ve said in a movie. People go to watch my movies to see how crazy I’m going to be or see how many times I say motherfucker. Whatever gets them in the seats.”

Samuel L. Jackson is set to reprise his role of Nick Fury in the upcoming Disney+ series Secret Invasion and The Marvels which is scheduled for release on July 28, 2023.

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