Samuel L. Jackson has been a longtime collaborator and a dear friend to notable and iconic director Quentin Tarantino ever since Pulp Fiction. Starring in the 1994 movie, the director and actor found themselves to be quite the pair in Hollywood.
Appearing in many of Tarantino’s movies (which are also very limited), Samuel L. Jackson was quite heartbroken when Quentin Tarantino refused him a role in his WWII movie. The actor wanted to desperately have a part in Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, but the director simply didn’t want Jackson in it!
When Quentin Tarantino Denied Samuel L. Jackson A Role!
Back in 2009, Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, and several notable actors joined hands for Quentin Tarantino’s WWII movie titled Inglourious Basterds. With the genre being a war/action movie, Tarantino depicted what could have been instead of what actually happened and people loved it.
From several iconic scenes such as “Margheriti!” to “100 Nazi scalps”, the movie has been often quoted and has become a Hollywood classic. Despite a great storyline and the project being a Quentin Tarantino movie, something felt missing. The missing factor was Tarantino’s best friend Samuel L. Jackson who desperately begged the director for a role. In an interview, with the Los Angeles Times, Jackson talked about the 2009 movie and how he was denied a role.
“Like when he did the Nazi movie [“Inglourious Basterds”], he was like, “There’s nothing for you in this.” “I can learn how to speak French.” “No, I’m having a French guy.” So I did the voice-over about celluloid and the movies.”
The actor, continuing his hilarious humor, further stated that working with Quentin Tarantino has always been a blessing. Naming some iconic movies, Samuel L. Jackson joked that he was surprised when he did not receive an award for his portrayal of Stephen in Django Unchained.
Samuel L. Jackson Was Surprised When He Didn’t Receive An Award
In the interview, the actor further stated that starring in Pulp Fiction was one of his finest decisions. Getting a chance to know the visionary director Quentin Tarantino unlocked some quite unique roles for Jackson and the actor thinks that he deserved an award for one of his roles.
“Everything I’ve done for Quentin has a moment that’s given me an opportunity, from “Jackie Brown” to “The Hateful Eight” to “Django [Unchained].” “Django” was probably my best shot because it’s the most evil character I’ve ever played and they generally reward Black people for playing horrendous s—. [Laughs]”
In the end, Samuel L. Jackson did not win an award for his portrayal of Stephen in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. Although the actor wasn’t able to act in Inglourious Basterds, he did give a voiceover when the movie introduced Til Schwiger’s character of Hugo Stiglitz. The 2009 WWII movie is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
Source: The Los Angeles Times
