Over the five decades of his career, Samuel L. Jackson has portrayed several iconic characters in multiple films. Followed by his first few years in the industry, Jackson had his big break in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 crime drama Pulp Fiction. The film follows Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield going through a series of bizarre and often violent encounters. It has an ensemble cast, including John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, Uma Thurman, and The Avengers actor.
While the role of Jules Winnfield brought him prominence, Jackson later shared that he nearly lost his life in a horrific accident during the 1980s. He claimed that the accident was a life-changing experience for him.
Samuel L. Jackson Suffered a Horrific Accident
Samuel L. Jackson’s performance as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction is considered not only one of the best in his career but also one of the most iconic performances in cinema. It turned out to be the big break that every actor waits for in their career. And the Glass actor would later share that none of this would have happened if he had not survived a horrific accident earlier in his life.
During an interview with Vanity Fair, he shared that he was riding the subway in December 1988. As he got off the train he stopped to help out a woman who dropped some of her things. However, he did not realize that while leaning over, his right foot was still in between the subway doors and soon they closed on his ankle.
And shortly after the subway started moving from the station, while his foot was still trapped indoors. He fell backward as the train started moving, and his backpack prevented any head injuries. The actor shared that he believed he would not survive that day as the train entered the tunnel.
Thankfully, “a guy on crutches pulled the emergency cord” before he was smashed into the wall. However, he still suffered a number of critical injuries from the incident and spent ten months on crutches and over a year in physical rehab.
Samuel L. Jackson Was Not the First Choice For Jules Winnfield
Quentin Tarantino initially wanted Laurence Fishburne as Jules Winnfield in the 1994 film. However, the actor had some issues with the film’s portrayal of “heroin abuse,” and was not comfortable with glorifying such things on screen. After he denied the offer, the director had his eyes on Paul Calderon.
However, the Burning Daylight actor was frustrated after the director was late for the audition. Jackson, who was also there to audition for the role, shared that he was also frustrated, but he used it for his audition and was able to nail his audition. Richard Gladstein later shared that he, Lawrence Bender, and Quentin Tarantino all were stunned by his performance.
Source: Vanity Fair
