Mt. Rushmore- Samuel L. Jackson
This has got to be one of the hardest Mt. Rushmores to do because Sam Jackson is in everything & he always leaves an impact. As of writing, he is the highest grossing actor of all-time and has appeared in so many iconic franchises & films. So before we highlight his top 4 most iconic roles, let’s honorably mention some honorable mentions. Ordell Robbie in ‘Jackie Brown,’ Stephen in ‘Django Unchained,’ Marquis Warren in ‘The Hateful Eight,’ Zeus Carver in ‘Die Hard with a Vengeance,’ Carl Lee Hailey in ‘A Time to Kill,’ Mr. Glass in ‘Unbreakable,’ John Shaft in ‘Shaft,’ Augustus Gibbons in ‘XXX,’ Neville Flynn in ‘Snakes on a Plane,’ Richmond Valentine in ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service,’ and my hardest exclusion, Ken Carter in ‘Coach Carter.’
Jules Winnfield in ‘Pulp Fiction’- Somehow, Jackson only has one competitive Oscar nomination, but it makes since that it comes from his best performance. Jackson has teamed up with Quentin Tarantino several times (many of which are mentioned above), but nothing beats the first time they worked together. Some folks consider ‘Pulp Fiction’ to be Tarantino’s best & it’s a very compelling argument. The intertwining story features many iconic characters, but I think none more so than Jules.
Frozone in ‘The Incredibles’- Yea, this may be a hot take over a Coach Carter or Mr. Glass or a lot of SLJ’s other roles. But I’m standing by it. ‘The Incredibles’ is iconic in both the worlds of animation and superhero films with Mr. Incredible’s best bud Frozone being an integral piece. Jackson would reprise his role in the sequel where he took on an even bigger part, but nothing is more iconic than that one line, ‘Honey? Where’s my supersuit?’ Yea you know it.
Mace Windu in ‘Star Wars’- This is common knowledge lore at this point, but if you didn’t know, the reason Mace Windu has a purple lightsaber is because Jackson said he wanted a purple lightsaber. That’s an awesome move that resulted in an awesome lightsaber from one of the prequel trilogies best characters. Although Windu’s hardheadedness is frustrating to watch, he really wants what’s best for the galaxy and the Jedi Order and is just one bad MFer. Excuse the language, but I had to get it in here once.
Nick Fury in the MCU- Quick! Don’t Google it, counting cameos how many times has Jackson played Nick Fury? The answer is stunning. He has played Fury in 12 different films & 4 tv shows. ‘Iron Man,’ ‘Iron Man 2,’ ‘Thor,’ ‘Captain America: The First Avenger,’ ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier,’ ‘Captain Marvel,’ ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home,’ ‘The Marvels,’ all 4 Avengers films, the animated series ‘Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur’ & ‘What If…?,’ ‘Agents of SHIELD,’ and the main role in ‘Secret Invasion.’ My fingers are cramping from typing that. You can’t play a role that many times without it being a cultural icon.
