In a fascinating exchange of wisdom between Hollywood legends, Samuel L. Jackson shared a valuable piece of advice he received from Bruce Willis while filming the 1994 action blockbuster, Die Hard With a Vengeance. Willis, reflecting on his own career, advised Jackson on the importance of having a signature character to fall back on, even when other projects might not succeed at the box office.
"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 recounted to Vanity Fair during a special feature celebrating Willis' 70th birthday. Willis used examples from other action stars to illustrate his point, mentioning Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator, Sylvester Stallone's Rocky and Rambo, and his own John McClane. Jackson initially didn't fully grasp the advice until he landed the role of Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Jackson first stepped into the shoes of Nick Fury with a cameo in the post-credits scene of 2008's Iron Man. He then fully embraced the character in 2010's Iron Man 2. Since then, Jackson has reprised his role as Nick Fury in an impressive total of 10 films, three TV series, and two video games. His most recent portrayals include the 2023 film The Marvels, the series Secret Invasion, and a voice role in the Season 2 finale of the animated series Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
Reflecting on his journey with the character, Jackson humorously shared his initial concerns about completing his nine-picture deal with Marvel. In a September 2024 interview with GQ, he recalled his conversation with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige: "I knew I had a nine-picture deal when Kevin said, 'We wanna offer you a nine-picture deal.' I was like, 'How long I gotta stay alive to make nine movies?'" Jackson admitted he was unaware of the rapid pace at which Marvel produces films, noting, "It's not the quickest process in the world and people don't do it, so I didn't know they were gonna make nine movies in like two-and-a-half years. Which is kind of crazy. I was like 'Oh s—t, I'm using up my contracts!' but it worked out."
