Samuel L. Jackson Says He Should’ve Won The Oscar For Pulp Fiction

Samuel L. Jackson thinks he should have won the Oscar for his performance in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Jackson played Jules Winnfield, a religious hitman in the film which won Tarantino an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The film became such a fan favorite that Tarantino auctioned NFTs based on unseen footage. In 1995, Jackson’s work on Pulp Fiction was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but he lost to Martin Landau for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s movie, Ed Wood. Jackson has yet to win an Oscar.

Jackson’s performance in Pulp Fiction has become its own distinguished pillar within the world of cinema. In the film, Jules Winnfield is a hitman going through an ethical transformation. At first, Jules is happy to hold the oxymoronic mantle of pious assassin, loosely quoting Bible verses while wielding his gun. Jules works for Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) and carries out hits with Vincent Vega (John Travolta) all while demonstrating his wit and taste for cheeseburger trivia. Jules narrowly avoids death, which begins his transformation, realizing he can’t be a killer anymore now that God has spared him. It’s an incredibly entertaining character arc that ends in an iconic diner speech. Fans rank Pulp Fiction highly in Tarantino’s work.

In an interview with The Times reported by ET Canada, Jackson shared how he really felt about the Oscar awards process and the different ways in which they miss the mark with their choices. He believes he “should have won that one” when it came to his role in the now-legendary Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction. He also thinks a nomination for his work on Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever was in order, though it doesn’t appear to weigh on him much, given his incredible successes at the box office. Beyond his own award snubs, he pointed to a list of larger problems in how awardees are chosen, particularly Black actors. He also joins a growing chorus of voices that want a most popular movie category in the Oscars. Read some of his interview below:

“I guess Black folk usually win for doing despicable s**t on screen. Like Denzel [Washington] for being a horrible cop in ‘Training Day’. All the great stuff he did in uplifting roles like ‘Malcolm X’? No – we’ll give it to this motherf**ker … So maybe I should have won one. But Oscars don’t move the comma on your cheque — it’s about getting a**es in seats and I’ve done a good job of doing that … All movies are valid. Some go to the cinema to be moved dearly. Some like superheroes. If somebody has more butts on seats it just means your audience is not as broad. There are people who have had successful careers but nobody can recite one line of their parts. I’m the guy who says s**t that’s on a T-shirt … They should have an Oscar for the most popular movie, because that’s what the business is about.”

Based on box office results, Jackson is the highest grossing actor of all time. As of early 2021, his films had pulled in a staggering $5.7 billion. With that kind of legacy, it’s no surprise he feels the snubs from the Academy, along with millions of his fans. Since 2015, the #OscarsSoWhite movement has pointed out that the Academy’s lack of diversity routinely leads to awards biased in favor of white actors and audiences. While Landau’s performance in Ed Wood was absolutely worthy of praise, its impact on the cultural zeitgeist can’t compare to Jackson’s Jules Winnfield. The Academy was even less diverse in the ’90s, meaning more inevitable white bias in the decision process and potential aversion to such a raw performance from a Black actor.

Pulp Fiction‘s impact on cinema is multifold. To start, the non-linear narrative in Tarantino’s sophomore feature set it apart from the norm at the time. Where Jackson’s performance became so critical though, was in the meandering, seemingly improvised style of dialogue. It made the characters feel real and believable in a way that hadn’t been done before. That feel of authenticity starts with an amazing script and is completed by the natural, charismatic performances that Jackson consistently delivers in his work. Countless filmmakers and actors have since been striving for a similar feel in their own work. Hopefully, Jackson’s monumental contributions to the art form will be adequately honored by the Academy one day, though he won’t likely be holding his breath.

Source: The Times (via ET Canada)

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