Samuel L. Jackson Says It’s Not An Honor To Be Nominated For An Oscar

Don’t think that Samuel L. Jackson feels any kind of honor when receives the surprise that he’s got an Oscar nomination for any of his roles. The Marvel star recently opened up about his feelings towards the awards ceremony – where Will Smith famously slapped Chris Rock if you can believe it – during a latest interview with the Associated Press.

Samuel L. Jackson Talks About “Contest” You Don’t “Volunteer To Be In”

Samuel L. Jackson obviously has some strong feelings about the prestigious award ceremonies that recognizes the best in artistic and technical merit in the film industry. They’re not all negative feelings, in case you’re wondering.

If you can believe it, Samuel L. Jackson – who plays Marvel’s Nick Fury across dozens of movies and shows – has only been nominated for one Oscar throughout his successful movie career.

It was in 1995 as a best supporting actor for ‘Pulp Fiction.’ However, due to his continuing influences in cinema, he was given an honorary Academy Award in 2021.

He weighed in on this as he promoted his latest movie, ‘The Paino Lesson’ in a video interview with AP Entertainment.

“We’ve been in the business long enough to know that when folks go, ‘It’s just an honor to be nominated.’ No it ain’t. It’s an honor to win,” Jackson proclaimed with a laugh. “You get nominated and folks go, ‘Yeah I remember that.’ Or most people forget. Generally it’s a contest you didn’t volunteer to be in. I didn’t go in there so I could flex. ‘Let me do my scene, so you can remember who I was.’”

“They nominate you and people go, ‘What is that movie you’re nominated for? What’s the name of that thing?’ And after it’s over and people have a hard time remembering who even won,” Jackson added.

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Samuel L. Jackson Candidly Says He Deserves To Win Best Supporting Actor Over Martin Landau

In 2022, Jackson did not mince his words when he told The Times that he deserved to win the 1995 Oscar for best supporting actor over Martin Landau (“Ed Wood”).

In another interview with The Vulture in 2023, he called out the Oscars for not nominating him for his performance in Joel Schumacher’s 1996 legal drama “A Time to Kill.” Despite Jackson’s criticisms of the awards show, he has admitted he doesn’t necessarily go looking for Oscar-friendly parts to play just to get the shiny awards.

“I was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor,” Jackson told the Times. “My yardstick of success is my happiness: Am I satisfied with what I’m doing? I’m not doing statue-chasing movies. You know [whispers]: ‘If you do this movie, you’ll win an Oscar.’ No, thanks. I’d rather be Nick Fury. Or having fun being Mace Windu with a lightsaber in my hand.”
Jackson’s latest movie ‘The Piano Lesson’ is now streaming on Netflix.

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