Samuel L. Jackson made his big-screen debut in the 1972 American blaxploitation independent film ‘Together for Days’ directed by Michael Schultz. Following his debut, he went on to star in films such as ‘Ragtime’ (1981), ‘Eddie Murphy Raw’ (1987), ‘Coming to America’ (1988), ‘School Daze’ (1988), ‘Do the Right Thing’ (1989), ‘Sea of Love’ (1989), ‘A Shock to the System’ (1990), ‘Mo' Better Blues’ (1990), and ‘The Exorcist III’ (1990). In 1990, he starred as ‘Stacks Edwards’ in the American biographical crime film ‘Goodfellas’ directed by Martin Scorsese. The film saw massive acclaim upon release and came to be regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. In 2000, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. He next starred in films like ‘Strictly Business’ (1991), ‘Jungle Fever’ (1991), ‘Juice’ (1992), ‘Patriot Games’ (1992), ‘White Sands’ (1992), ‘Menace II Society’ (1993), and ‘Loaded Weapon 1’ (1993). In 1993, he starred as ‘John "Ray" Arnold’ in the American science fiction action film ‘Jurassic Park’ directed by Steven Spielberg. The film garnered praise from critics and was a massive commercial success, grossing over $914 million on a budget of $63 million.Â
In 1994, he portrayed ‘Jules Winnfield’ in the American black comedy crime film ‘Pulp Fiction’ directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film saw universal acclaim upon release and was a major box office success, grossing over $213.9 million on a budget of $8–8.5 million. Jackson also won several award nominations, including the ‘Academy Award,’ ‘BAFTA Award,’ and ‘Golden Globe Award’ nominations, for his performance in the film. That same year, he also played the role of ‘Dale’ in the comedy-drama film ‘The New Age’ directed by Michael Tolkin. The film holds a 64% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He next starred in films like ‘Kiss of Death’ (1995), ‘Die Hard with a Vengeance’ (1995), ‘The Great White Hype’ (1996), ‘A Time to Kill’ (1996), ‘Trees Lounge’ (1996), ‘Eve's Bayou’ (1997), ‘Jackie Brown’ (1997), ‘Sphere’ (1998), and ‘The Negotiator’ (1998). In 1999, he portrayed ‘Mace Windu’ in the American epic space opera film ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ directed by George Lucas. The film, despite receiving a mixed response from critics, turned out to be a massive financial success and grossed over $1.027 billion on a $115 million budget. That same year, he also starred as ‘Russell Franklin’ in the Renny Harlin-directed American science fiction horror film ‘Deep Blue Sea.’ The film opened to a mixed reception but managed to gross over $165 million on a $60–82 million budget.Â
Jackson continued to star in films like ‘Rules of Engagement’ (2000), ‘Unbreakable’ (2000), ‘The Caveman's Valentine’ (2001), ‘Changing Lanes’ (2002), ‘Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones’ (2002), ‘No Good Deed’ (2002), ‘S.W.A.T.’ (2003), ‘Kill Bill: Volume 2’ (2004), ‘The Incredibles’ (2004), ‘Coach Carter’ (2005), ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ (2005), ‘Freedomland’ (2006), ‘Snakes on a Plane’ (2006), ‘1408’ (2007), and ‘Resurrecting the Champ’ (2007). In 2008, he starred as ‘Agent Roland Cox’ in the American science fiction action film ‘Jumper’ directed by Doug Liman. Even though the film was panned by critics, it managed to come out as a commercial success and grossed over $225.1 million on an $85 million budget. The same year, he also made an uncredited cameo as ‘Nick Fury’ in the Jon Favreau-directed American superhero film ‘Iron Man.’ The film was a critical and commercial success and grossed over $585.8 million at the box office. He next starred in films like ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009), ‘Iron Man 2’ (2010), ‘The Other Guys’ (2010), ‘Thor’ (2011), ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ (2011), ‘The Avengers’ (2012), ‘Django Unchained’ (2012), ‘Turbo’ (2013), ‘Oldboy’ (2013), ‘RoboCop’ (2014), ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ (2014), ‘Big Game’ (2014), and ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ (2015). In 2015, he reprised his role as ‘Nick Fury’ in the American superhero film ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ directed by Joss Whedon. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed over $1.403 billion on a budget of $444–495.2 million.Â
He continued to star in films such as ‘The Legend of Tarzan’ (2016), ‘Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children’ (2016), ‘Kong: Skull Island’ (2017), ‘The Hitman's Bodyguard’ (2017), ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018), ‘Incredibles 2’ (2018), ‘Glass’ (2019), ‘Captain Marvel’ (2019), ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019), ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (2019), ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ (2019), ‘The Banker’ (2020), ‘Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard’ (2021), and ‘The Protégé’ (2021). He was last seen in the 2022 computer-animated martial arts comedy film, ‘Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank’ directed by Rob Minkoff, Mark Koetsier, and Chris Bailey. The film received a lukewarm response from critics and failed to perform at the box office.