Quentin Tarantino is one of those filmmakers that loves to use his actors in multiple projects. And one of those actors he tends to use over and over again is Samuel L. Jackson. At 70-years-old, Jackson is more popular now than ever before, with those aforementioned Tarantino films and of course, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But even though the actor has dozens of films that are worthy of viewing, for film fans, it’s still his work in Tarantino’s films that garner the most interest.
And in a new interview with Esquire, Jackson talks about why one of those roles is his favorite, and why he continues to work with Tarantino time after time, especially in light of the controversial language the filmmaker uses in his work.
When asked about his favorite roles of his career, Jackson talks his roles in “Long Kiss Goodnight” and the crime thriller “187,” but also mentions another that might raise a few eyebrows, “And believe it or not, I love fucking Stephen from ‘Django Unchained.’”
Why does Jackson love his role as the objectively terrible Stephen? He gives plenty of reasons.
“I mean, the dude ran that fucking plantation,” explained Jackson. “Candyland was his fucking plantation. Leo’s [DiCaprio] out fighting n—–s and doing whatever, running the strip club. Dude’s writing the bills. He’s making sure the crops get planted. He’s making sure the slaves get sold. He runs that place. And he’s been there.”
He continued, “His father did the same job he had; his grandfather did the same job he had. And he has this misplaced love for Leo and this stuff because he raised him. He ain’t really got no kids of his own because he ain’t have time to do that. But Leo was basically his kid. And Candyland is his world. He knows outside Candyland, he’s just another n—– on the plantation.”
Of course, as Jackson highlights in his reasoning for liking the character, “Django Unchained” is a film that drew some heavy criticism from folks who were upset over Tarantino’s use of the n-word in his scripts. When asked about this, the actor called the outrage “bullshit” and explains why he doesn’t think the filmmaker deserves that controversy:
“When we did ‘Pulp,’ I warned Quentin about the whole ‘n—– storage.’ I was like, ‘Don’t say ‘n—– storage.’’ He’s like, ‘No, I’m going to say it like that.’ And we tried to soften it by making his wife black, because that wasn’t originally written. . . . But you can’t just tell a writer he can’t talk, write the words, put the words in the mouths of the people from their ethnicities, the way that they use their words. You cannot do that, because then it becomes an untruth; it’s not honest. It’s just not honest. And half the time, too, there are other ways. And I generally add like at least five n—as to what Quentin has already written, just because I’m talking. I mean, that one sentence to Chris Tucker [in ‘Jackie Brown’]: ‘I hate to be the kind of nigga that do a n—a a favor and then bam hit the n—a up for a favor in return, but I gots to be that kind of n—a.’ It’s just one sentence. It’s like boom. But wouldn’t Ordell say that?”
As of now, it doesn’t appear that Jackson will show up in the next Tarantino film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” but we wouldn’t bet against the actor having even the briefest of cameos. But if you’re really wanting to see Jackson in a film, “Captain Marvel” is out now.