Samuel L. Jackson Reveals How Bruce Willis’ Advice “Foreshadowed” His Later Role as Nick Fury

Today, Samuel L. Jackson is one of the most famous and beloved actors. He is also extremely prolific, having appeared in numerous movies, and even franchises, among which are several of Quentin Tarantino’s films, the Star Wars franchise (where he played Mace Windu), and the MCU, where he is still playing Nick Fury.

The latter is related – in a very indirect and odd way – to an older role Jackson played back in 1995. It is the role of electrician Zeus Carver in Die Hard with a Vengeance, where he became the unlikely partner of Bruce Willis’ John McClane in the latter’s pursuit of Simon Peter Gruber, played by Jeremy Irons.

And while this was not Jackson’s breakout role, the actor recently revealed how a piece of advice given to him by Willis during the shooting of that movie actually relates to his biggest franchise role, that of the MCU’s Nick Fury.

“He told me, ‘Hopefully you’ll be able to find a character that, when you make bad movies and they don’t make any money, you can always go back to this character everybody loves,'” Jackson said. “He said, ‘Arnold’s got Terminator. Sylvester’s got Rocky and Rambo. I’ve got John McClane.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, okay.’ And it didn’t occur to me until I got that Nick Fury role – and I had a nine-picture deal to be Nick Fury – that, ‘Oh, I’m doing what Bruce said. I’ve got this character now.‘”

And while it cannot be said that Willis had anything to do with Jackson becoming Nick Fury, it is interesting to observe how Jackson managed to connect that piece of advice, or support, to his current career trajectory, especially in light of the fact that he became one of the symbols of the MCU thanks to Nick Fury.

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