Age: 77
male
Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him the second highest-grossing actor of all time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave him an Academy Honorary Award in 2022 as "A cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide". Jackson started his career on stage making his professional theatre debut in Mother Courage and her Children in 1980 at The Public Theatre. From 1981 to 1983 he originated the role of Private Louis Henderson in A Soldier's Play Off-Broadway. He also originated the role of Boy Willie in August Wilson's The Piano Lesson in 1987 at the Yale Repertory Theatre. He returned to the play in the 2022 Broadway revival playing Doaker Charles. Jackson early film roles include Coming to America (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Patriot Games (1992), Juice (1992), True Romance (1993), and Jurassic Park (1993), Menace II Society (1993), and Fresh (1994). His collaborations with Spike Lee led to greater prominence with films such as School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Oldboy (2013), and Chi-Raq (2015). Jackson's breakout role was in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) which earned him a BAFTA Award win and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He further collaborated with Tarantino, acting in Jackie Brown (1997), Django Unchained (2012), and The Hateful Eight (2015). He's known for having appeared in a number of big-budget films, including Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), The Negotiator (1997), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Shaft (2000) and its reboot (2019), XXX (2002), S.W.A.T. (2003), Coach Carter (2005), Snakes on a Plane (2006), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), and Glass (2019). He also gained widespread recognition as the Jedi Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999–2005), later voicing the role in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and the video game Lego Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2011). With his permission, his likeness was used for the Ultimate version of the Marvel Comics character Nick Fury; he subsequently played Fury in 11 Marvel Cinematic Universe films, beginning with a cameo appearance in Iron Man (2008), as well as guest-starring in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He will reprise this role in the upcoming Disney+ series Secret Invasion, which is set to premiere on June 21, 2023. Jackson has provided his voice for several animated films, documentaries, television series, and video games, including Lucius Best / Frozone in the Pixar films The Incredibles (2004) and Incredibles 2 (2018).
Springlocked is a 2027 American supernatural action horror film directed by Robert Eggers and written by him, Scott Cawthon and Christian Bale from a story by Cawthon based on the Springtrap character from the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise. It is first installment in the William Afton trilogy. The film stars Bale as William Afton / Springtrap, while Cara Delevingne stars in the main role as Charlotte Emily, along with Abigail Breslin, Andrew Lincoln, Kelly Reilly, Joe Keery, Rosamund Pike, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, Charlotte, a traumatized FBI agent who as a child was almost murdered outside a pizzeria, is forced to face her fears when a serial killer from her own past emerges in the form of an old Spring Bonnie animatronic suit. Springlocked had its world premiere at the 84th Venice International Film Festival on November 6th, 2027 and was released theatrically on December 9th; despite being widely acclaimed by fans and audiences, it received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visual style, action sequences, storyline, VFX, atmosphere, stunts, originality, the performances of Bale and Delevingne, and Hans Zimmer's musical score, but criticized the heavy emphasis on fan service, the overly dark tone, portrayal of the Afton family, and graphic violence, while its R-rating divided critics. This film became a subject to controversy, as fans and audiences defended the film due to their positive feedback, while critics lashed out at them over this. A sequel, Springlocked II, was released the following year.
