The Nick Fury of Marvel Cinematic Universe believes that he 'should have won' an Academy Award for his role in 1994's 'Pulp Fiction', for which he was nominated but lost to Martin Landau.
- March 3, 2022
AceShowbiz - Samuel L. Jackson thinks he deserves an Oscar. The acting vet is criticizing the Academy for not recognizing any of his performances with an Academy Award despite a number of his critically acclaimed roles. In fact, he thinks that he should've won one for his role in "Pulp Fiction".
"I should have won that one," he told the U.K.'s The Sunday Times when talking about his performance as Jules Winnfield in the 1994 movie. That year, he was nominated for best supporting actor alongside Martin Landau ("Ed Wood"), Chazz Palminteri ("Bullets Over Broadway"), Paul Scofield ("Quiz Show") and Gary Sinise ("Forrest Gump"), but lost the award to Landau.
Jackson said that his performance in 1991's "Jungle Fever" was also worthy of awards. He recalled how he was surprised to learn that he didn't get nominated, but two cast members from "Bugsy" landed nominations. "My wife and I went to see 'Bugsy'," he said. "Damn! They got nominated and I didn't?"
"I guess black folk usually win for doing despicable s**t onscreen," the 74-year-old opined. "Like Denzel [Washington] for being a horrible cop in 'Training Day'. All the great stuff he did in uplifting roles like 'Malcolm X'? No - we'll give it to this mother**ker. So maybe I should have won one."
"But," the Nick Fury of Marvel Cinematic Universe added, "Oscars don't move the comma on your check - it's about getting a**es in seats and I've done a good job of doing that."
Jackson also criticized the Academy for the lack of recognition for popular movies. "They should have an Oscar for the most popular movie. Because that's what the business is about," he said, adding the Oscars "should" award "Spider-Man: No Way Home" this year for grossing $1.8 billion and counting worldwide. "It did what movies did forever - it got people to a big dark room."
"All movies are valid," "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" star went on arguing. "Some go to the cinema to be moved dearly. Some like superheroes. If somebody has more butts on seats it just means your audience is not as broad. There are people who have had successful careers but nobody can recite one line of their parts. I'm the guy who says shit that's on a T-shirt."
The snub aside, Jackson will receive an Honorary Oscar at the 2022 Governors Awards on March 25.
