- The Ezekiel 25:17 Bible iverse is one of the most memorable scenes in Hollywood history
- Jackson was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 1995 Academy Awards for his performance as Jules Winnfield
- The 75-year-old has worked on multiple projects with Quentin Tarantino since, including Django Unchained and Jackie Brown
Samuel L. Jackson has still got it. He never lost it, in fact. It’s doubtful he ever will. The 75-year-old Oscar nominated hero has been revisiting perhaps his most iconic role, as hitman Jules Winnfield, to celebrate Pulp Fiction’s 30th anniversary.
The role, which earned Jackson an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor (and won him the BAFTA in the same category), cemented him as a bona fide Hollywood star, who has gone onto become the highest grossing actor of all time, with his films banking a total of $27b at box offices worldwide over the course of his historic career.
Jackson’s turn as Winnfield began a partnership with Quentin Tarantino that would see Tarantino direct the 75-year-old in Jackie Brown, Kill Bill: Volume 2, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight (Tarantino also wrote the screenplay for True Romance, in which Jackson had a brief role, while Jackson also narrated Inglourious Basterds).
“YOU KNOW I STILL GOT IT”
But it is probably Pulp Fiction which remains Jackson’s most memorable hour, among his litany of iconic roles over the past four decades. And to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the star studded, Oscar winning crime comedy epic, Jackson revived the Ezekiel 25:17 Bible verse for which his character is so unshakably associated.
In the movie, Jackson delivers the speech after Jules and his fellow hitman Vincent Vega (John Travolta) arrive at an apartment to retrieve their boss, Marsellus Wallace’s (Ving Rhames) briefcase. Over some Big Kahuna burgers and tasty beverages, Jules and Vincent eventually lay waste to Wallace’s business partner Brett and his friends as they seek to double cross the crime lord.
The star studded ensemble also features Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel and Tarantino himself in a cameo role. It was nominated for a total of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Jackson’s aforementioned Best Supporting Actor. It would pick up the award for Best Original Screenplay, an honour Tarantino would receive once more, for Django Unchained in 2013.
