Rise of a superstar free essay sample

The Rise of a Superstar Proficient in stealing almost every scene he appears in, through his screen intensity and polished delivery he regularly displays while performing, Samuel Leroy Jackson really has all the reason to place himself softly in the group of lauded leading men in Hollywood. His work on a number of projects, either high profile or low key, has indeed shown his ability to play film characters with both remarkable versatility and unusual intelligence critics often praised for. His roles portray him often as an angry man, but Jackson quickly Justifies it in saying, You know, thats part of a story Jackson proclaims himself on being a good son, father, husband, being married to the same woman for over thirty years (Pat 3). He is a good friend, he values education, and he also donates anonymously. The dynamic actor, Samuel L. Jackson, offers so much in his films, and even more off the camera in his everyday life. In addition to films, Jackson also appeared in several television shows, a video game, music videos, as well as audio books. Jackson had a small part in the Public Enemy music video for 91 1 Is a Joke. Jackson voiced several television show characters ncluding the lead role in the anime series, Afro Samurai, in addition to a recurring part as the voice of Gin Rummy in several episodes of the animated series The Boondocks. He guest-starred as himself in an episode of the BBC/HBO sitcom Extras. He voiced the main antagonist, Officer Frank Tenpenny, in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Jackson also hosted a variety of awards shows. Thus far, he has hosted the MTV Movie Awards in 1998, the ESPYs in the years 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2009. In addition to those award shows Jackson hosted the Spike TV Video Game Awards in the years 2005, 2006, 2007 and came back in the year 2012 (Pat 6). In November of 2006, Jackson provided the voice of God for The Bible Experience, The New Testament audiobook version of the Bible. He was given the lead role because the producers believed his deep, authoritative voice would be the best fit for the role. For the Atlanta Falcons 2010 season, Samuel L. Jackson portrayed Rev. Sultan in the Falcons Rise Up commercial. He has been a successful actor and a great role model for many kids across the nation. Jackson has been in countless movies that has sold ver millions in the box office, pulling a gross worth over four billion dollars. He was also named the highest grossing film actor of all time by Guinness Book of World Records and was honored a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Harris 3). Jackson received much inspiration from featuring in voice overs for books, that he further expanded his audio book legacy by then narrating the Adam Mansback production of the number one book on Amazon, Go The F*ck to Sleep. While this is not your typical, politically correct, childrens bedtime story, this book went on to become a best seller in the year ot 2 Many thoughts were snared about t explicit book, some funny some disgusted. This books sparked many issues, with the big one being gender expectations. Would it have been different if a women were reading this book? that seemed to be the huge question in the reviews of this childrens bed time story (Pat 7). This caused much controversy for Samuel L. Jackson and his part of narrating this story, but he is no strange to stirring up the latest news, so he handled it with much professionalism. He went on in explaining the situation of the controversy lightheartedly, discussing the sense of humor of it all. Growing up Samuel Leroy Jackson faced many obstacles. Born on December 21, 1948, in Washington, D. C. Jackson eventually moved and grew up in a deeply segregated time and place in Chattanooga, Tennessee where he was raised by his grandparents and aunt, who was a school teacher. His mother, Elizabeth Jackson a former factory worker-turned-state institutional supply buyer did not live with him until Jackson was in the fourth grade. Young Sam grew up estranged from his father, a drunk, who later died from alcoholism (Samuels 47). His urge to perform emerged while he was still quite young. He played the French horn and trumpet in school symphony orchestras from the third grade up until his senior year of high school. Jackson also participated in rowdy neighborhood re-creations of favorite Westerns, substituting bicycles for the horses. When he was not pretending to be a high-sea rogue, he acted in his aunts school plays. However, he did not seriously participate in the theater world until he was in college. Despite his circumstances while browning up, Jackson went on to become an African American scholar. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Initially intent n pursuing a degree in marine biology, but after Joining a local acting group to earn extra points in a class, Jackson found an interest in acting and switched his major to Drama. Jackson was briefly suspended his Junior year in 1969 from Morehouse College, after taking hostage several members of the board of trustees, including the father of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, during a protest of the failure of the college to have a black studies program (Samuels 45-46). Coming back from suspension, Jackson made his film debut at Morehouse College with a supporting role in Together for Days, a low budget drama about interracial dating. Focusing on what would soon become his career, Jackson helped start the Just Us Theater company in Atlanta in 1972 before graduating. In addition to being involved with Dr. Martin Luther King, Samuel L. Jackson went on to star in a Broadway play with actress Angela Bassett, recalling a fateful time and rises about the progression of African Americans. The play, Reliving MLKs Last Hours, took a look inside the life Martin Luther King Jr. It explored the emotions, regrets, and fears of the civil rights leader in the night before he was shot to death on a Memphis motel balcony. the script offered a shocking twist to Dr. Kings last day (Samuels 44). The play showed Dr. Kings heart and venerability and how much he cared about the moment of civil rights in ways Jackson claimed he had never seen before in all of his years of living. This play displayed the humanity of Dr. King and the chance to discuss some meaningtul issues about where Atrican Americans were then and where they are now. the play Jackson cleared his entire schedule Just to cast in, had much influence on the audience. It displayed everything of Kings life from his usage of profanity to extramarital affairs to his emotion evoking, infamous, Mountaintop peech. After doing the play, Jackson suggested that there be a new appreciation for the civil struggle, saying given the current state of frustration and apathy running through the African American community. Samuel L. Jackson had many peaks in his career. Jackson Joined the Black Image Theatre Company with his future wife, LaTanya Richardson, whom he met at Morehouses sister school, Spelman College. They toured the country and performed skits characterized by a fiery combination of rage and humor to primarily white audiences. In 1976, having exhausted their enthusiasm for politically-charged heatre, Jackson moved with Richardson to Harlem, New York City, to pursue an acting career outside such strictly defined perimeters of race. He began to act in Off- Broadway productions, including Richard Wesleys The Mighty Gents, an adaptation of Bertolt Brechts Mother Courage, and Samm-Art Williamss Home (Harris 8). He also got a Job substituting for Bill Cosby during The Cosby Show rehearsal and appeared in two episodes of Spenser: For Hire with Robert Urich. In 1981, while working on Charles Fullers A Soldiers Play, Jackson had two life- changing encounters. He met fellow actor Morgan J. Freeman, who became a great friend and convinced Jackson that he could be a successful actor, and a New York University film student named Spike Lee, who expressed his enthusiasm for Jacksons performances and urged him to appear in the films he planned to make. Jackson consented and kept his word, appearing in several of Lees early films including School Daze, Do the Right Thing, and Mo Better Blues. The friendship duly paid off for Jackson, as it was his role as the drug-addicted Gator in Lees Jungle Fever that finally grabbed critics attention and inspired some well-earned praise. Judges at the Cannes Film Festival created a Best Supporting Actor category in order to give Jackson the prize. He also received a New York Film Critics award. Through playing an on- screen drug-demon, Jackson was forced to confront his own off-screen demon an increasingly destructive addiction to drugs and alcohol. After previously overdosing on heroin several times, Jackson gave up the drug in favor of cocaine. After seeing the effects of his addiction, his family entered him into a New York rehab clinic where he successfully completed rehab. The cathartic nature of his performance enabled Jackson to give up drugs, making it both a personal and professional success. Jackson continued to take small parts in films such as Juice and True Romance, and he played an FBI agent in the thriller White Sands, exhibiting his impressive range and ability to add a quirky twist to every character. He overcame two Hollywood flops, National Lampoons Loaded Weapon I and Amos Andrew, by making small but affecting performances in Menace II Society and Patriot Games (Sandoval 4). In 1994, after establishing a reputation as one of Hollywoods hardest-working actors, Jackson ot a chance to play the pivotal role of his career in Quentin Tarantinos instant cult classic, Pulp Fiction. Working trom any actors dream script, Jackson played Jules Winnfield, a sermon-spewing killer with eruptive speeches up to five pages long. He moved and terrified audiences with his impassioned performance, becoming the elusive moral center of the psychologically twisted film. He received an Academy Award nomination for the role. Starting what would become a successful career, Jackson went on to make several big Hollywood films, including John Grishams A Time to Kill and the action-thriller The Long Kiss Goodnight, but he continued to participate in independent endeavors, such as Steve Buscemis Trees Lounge. In 1993, Jackson made a much-desired return to the stage in Distant Fires, telling Premiere magazine, l always want to get back to theater to make sure that Im still an actor. Some 1999 performances include a role in the shark thriller Deep Blue Sea and Jedi knight Mace Windu in Star Wars: Episode l: The Phantom Menace. Jackson has revealed in an interview that he sees every one of his movies in theaters with paying customers claiming that. Even during my theater ears, I wished I could watch the plays I was in while I was in them! I dig watching myself work. (Richardson 64 ) He also enjoys collecting the action figures of the characters he has portrayed in films, those including Jules Winnfield, Shaft, Mace Windu, and Frozone. He is a comic book and anime fan. His favorite anime series including Ninja Scroll, and Black Lagoon. Jackson is a bald man, but enjoys wearing unusual wigs in his films. Jackson has reflected on his decision to go bald, saying I keep ending up on those bald is beautiful lists. He continued in explaining, You know, when I started losing my hair t was during the era when everybody had lots of hair All of a sudden I felt this big hole in the middle of my afro, I couldnt face having a comb over so I had to quickly figure which haircut was for me. (Richardson 65) His first role where he appeared completely bald was in The Great White Hype. Jackson usually gets to select his own hairstyles for each character he portrays. Although he did poke fun at his baldness the first time he appeared bald on The Tonight Show, explaining that he had to shave his head for one role, but then he kept receiving more and more roles afterward, and ad to keep shaving his head so wigs could be made for him. Laughingly, he ended the tale by lamenting to Jay Leno The only way Im gonna have time to grow my hair back, is if Im not working! (Harris 9). In 2000, he starred with Tommy Lee Jones in the military thriller Rules of Engagement and in the remake of the classic 1970s blaxploitation hit Shaft. He also co-starred with Bruce Willis in Unbreakable, a supernatural thriller written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. In 2002, Jackson starred opposite Ben Affleck in Changing Lanes. He also starred in Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Jackson also starred in Star Wars: Episode Ill Revenge of the Sith in 2005, Black Snake Moan in 2006, and Snakes on a Plane in 2006. In 2008, Jackson starred in Jumper. He also played the role of Nick Fury in Iron Man. His appearance comes only after the final credits have rolled in the film, setting up the inevitable sequel to the successful film. He appeared in the sequel, Iron Man 2, in 2010, signing a nine-film agreement with Marvel to play the character. In ad dition to his all ot his movie accomplishments, Samuel L. Jackson also campaigned during the 2008 Democratic Primary for then Illinois Senator Barack Obama in Texarkana, Texas. He expressed his gratitude for soon to be 44th president saying, Barack Obama represents everything I was told I could be growing up. Jackson had a major impact on the film industry, setting a standard for other actors. Having been the most prolific actor of the Nineties, its likely Samuel L. Jackson will slow down a touch. Especially as hes discovered a new hobby, golf, saying the only place I can go dressed as a pimp and fit in perfectly, but that doesnt mean he wont make more appearances than anyone else, or that he wont continue to deliver some of the most intense performances in history. The star of about one hundred films, and the earner of more than four billion dollars in domestic gross, Samuel L. Jackson, took a quick break from all the working and sat down for an interview conducted by Golf Magazine. He talked about being a part of George Lopez Celebrity Golf Classic in Los Angeles. Interviews viewers soon learned another side of Jackson, the golfer side (Golf Magazine). He talked about his favorite golf movie, Dead Solid Perfect, explaining about how not so great it is, but how it got him playing golf in the first place. He went on in telling his favorite people to golf with, Don Cheadle and George Lopez, two very famous actors as well. The sixty two year old explained his number one golf accomplishment so far, describing his 3-wood onto the par-1 5 13th at Augusta (Golf Magazine). That fire in his eyes is still so bright, its impossible to imagine it ever going out even at the age of 64. Working hard and becoming the great actor that he is, Jackson made a name for African American actors across the world with his success. With the ball still rolling, Jackson has Just starred in yet another Quentin Tarantino film, Django Unchained, along with Jamie Foxx,Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kerry Washington. In this particular film that released in late 2012, Jackson portrayed a very controversial character, which he believed would make him the most hated African American in America. Other believed this was one of Jacksons best performances to date. Jacksons role was pretty complicated as he plays the house nigger to the character played by DiCaprio. His character represented an instance in which a white director holds an obsequious black slave up for ridicule. (Sandoval 5) His character was thought to be making a mockery of African American history. Some of he audience felt offended and couldnt draw the distinction of the comic relief his role was supposed to provide. Whether it was good attention or negative attention, the character Stephen, played by Samuel L. Jackson, was sure to get the audiences attention. While being a big superstar on the big screen, Samuel L. Jackson also has a life at home. He has a loving wife and daughter whom he cherishes. His wife LaTanya, also and actress, actually played apart in movie with her husband in Losing Isaiah in 1995. Both of their roles werent as big, but it was a milestone in their relationship and oth of their careers. LaTanya contented to act, landing roles in plays such as The Member ot the Wedding at the Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut (Richardson 64). LaTanya didnt think she was that cut out for movies, and found her passion for the stage doing broadway plays. Together the two have one daughter, Zoe. The Jacksons made sure that their daughter was instilled with the same values each of them had while growing up. they made sure she possess a strong will, work ethic, and a sense of self. Zoe didnt follow the footsteps of her dramatic parents, but he isnt far from the television screen working as a producer for a sports channel. The Jacksons all come together to keep their charitable actions alive. They all care deeply about human and civil rights, and feel that it is important to provide an education for the less fortunate (Sandoval 8). Coming from two prestigious Historically Black Colleges, Morehouse and Spelman, the two made sure to keep education alive by setting up their own charitable foundation. Now, at almost 65 years old, Samuel L. Jackson is still acting and it doesnt look like hell be slowing down anytime soon. Hes in the same category as some of the best in Hollywood like the infamous Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Morgan Freeman, and Wesley Snipes. Jackson offered a very humbled outlook on his life saying, l acted, made costumes, worked the lights, built the sets, everything I could do in theater. I was making a decent living. I had a good reputation. If Hollywood never called, I could still work in theater. Jackson clearly has an unmistaken passion for theater and would not let any obstacles get in the way of living out his dream, whether it were on the big screen or a small hometown play. Jackson made sure he ad an impact on lives through his acting career, through the television screen and even in real life while giving back to the community. He has appeared in many films since the year 1972, when he got his first big break after his The Mountaintop premiere. Jackson changed himself to be versatile while acting out his roles. He has played the angry black man, the drug dealer, the superhero, and even a self-hating slave. His ability to adapt to such characters only displays his undeniable talent. Jackson has explained several times that it isnt the money that keeps him acting, it is honestly Just the true passion for his craft, acting.