Samuel L. Jackson ranks Samuel L. Jackson

“One of [my] most cerebral characters. I spent time with guys who made violins so I’d understand the process of evaluating their authenticity.”

“I got to wear a kilt the whole movie, which was awesome. We shot in Liverpool … they took me to some Liverpool F.C. games, and I became a fan.”

“Because he is who he is. Always fun having a character that explains himself in plain words.”

“Two really interesting characters with diverse life views, that meshed well. Ain’t it funny?”

“A good-time guy, his own man. But the wrong guy to cross. He’ll definitely put you in a trunk of a car.”

“Inspirational. The real Ken Carter was around, [helping] me with some of the characterization.”

“I have a daughter, so I understood the dynamic.”

“It’s a Tim Burton movie, so I got to be as bizarre and quirky as I wanted to be. Very freeing.”

“People didn’t know he could read, didn’t know he could write … he was a very formidable guy.”

“Most say I got famous after Pulp Fiction. [But] DHWAV was the highest-grossing film in the world that year. All of a sudden I was an international name.”

“I was like, ‘So how can I shoot this dude … and he still be alive, and I got stabbed in the back and died?”

“I was like everybody else: Why do we need to do another Shaft? The one we’ve got is, like, totally good.”

“I love Elijah.”

“Gator was me, I was that character. I’d been out of rehab maybe two weeks when we shot Jungle Fever.”

“One of those blessings that just kind of fell out of the sky.”

“He has a superpower. He shows up, he hangs out, he’s got a solution. He never gets flustered.”

“He’s a Jedi. Come on.”

“Jules is one of those dream roles you get. It was like doing a play on the screen.”

“Mitch is a fun-loving, profane guy… But he’s not afraid.”