Samuel L. Jackson Reveals How Bruce Willis' Advice Helped Him Find His Iconic Role
In honor of Bruce Willis' 70th birthday, Samuel L. Jackson recalled their collaboration on Die Hard With a Vengeance. It turns out that valuable advice from his co-star helped him decide on his iconic role.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, he revealed how he came to the image of the head of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization Nick Fury from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It turned out that back in 1994, Bruce Willis suggested that he find a character that would be associated only with him:
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". He said, "Arnold's got Terminator. Sylvester's got Rocky, 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.
As a result, Samuel L. Jackson played the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. in several Marvel films at once and still retains his place in the cinematic universe. The character's last appearance took place in the 2023 series Secret Invasion.
As for Bruce Willis, his health deteriorated significantly in 2023. The actor was diagnosed with progressive frontotemporal dementia and a year earlier — a speech impairment, which led to the end of his career. Now he spends all his time with his family.
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