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 Samuel L Jackson has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him the highest-grossing actor of all time (excluding cameo appearances and voice roles). Samuel L Jackson rose to fame with films such as Coming to America (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Patriot Games (1992), Juice (1992), Menace II Society (1993), True Romance (1993), Jurassic Park (1993), and Fresh (1994). Jackson continued gaining greater prominence for Samuel L Jackson collaborations with director Spike Lee in the films School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Oldboy (2013) and Chi-Raq (2015) and in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Django Unchained (2012), and The Hateful Eight (2015). For Samuel L Jackson role in Pulp Fiction, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2021 it was announced by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences that Jackson will be the recipient of the Honorary Academy Award.
Jackson is a highly prolific actor, having appeared in over 150 films. Samuel L Jackson other roles include Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), Hard Eight (1996), Eve's Bayou (1997), The Red Violin (1998), The Negotiator (1998), Unbreakable (2000), Shaft (2000) and its 2019 sequel/reboot, Coach Carter (2005), Snakes on a Plane (2006), The Other Guys (2010), Kong: Skull Island (2017), and Glass (2019). Jackson also won widespread recognition as the Jedi Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999–2005), and later voiced the role in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). 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 in 2022.