Samuel L. Jackson said his performances in "Pulp Fiction " and "Jungle Fever" deservedOscars .- However, Jackson said he is more interested in attracting audiences to the cinema.
Samuel L. Jackson told The Times of London that he believes he should have won an Academy Award for his role in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film "Pulp Fiction," but he is more interested in drawing audiences to the cinema than winning awards for his performances.
"I should have won that one," Jackson told The Times about being nominated for "Pulp Fiction." Jackson was nominated in the best supporting actor category for his performance in Tarantino's film. He lost out to Martin Landau who won for his performance in Tim Burton's film "Ed Wood."
Jackson continued to say that he also believes he should've won an Oscar for his performance in Spike Lee's 1991 film "Jungle Fever." In the film, Jackson plays a homeless drug addict opposite Wesley Snipes. Jackson didn't receive an Oscar nomination for his performance in "Jungle Fever," and he told The Times that he was surprised to discover that two actors who starred in Barry Levinson's 1991 film "Bugsy" made the cut over him.
"My wife and I went to see 'Bugsy,'" Jackson said. "Damn! They got nominated and I didn't? I guess Black folk usually win for doing despicable shit on screen. Like Denzel 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 motherfucker. So maybe I should have won one."
Jackson later added that he is professionally more interested in attracting audiences than winning awards.
"Oscars don't move the comma on your cheque," he said. "It's about getting asses in seats and I've done a good job of doing that."
Later during the interview, Jackson — who is set to receive an honorary Oscar at the 2022 Governors Awards on March 25 — told The Times that the American Academy should include an award for the year's most popular film.
"They should have an Oscar for the most popular movie. Because that's what the business is about," Jackson said before championing the recent Marvel superhero hit "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which grossed $1.8 billion at the worldwide box office.
"It did what movies did forever — it got people to a big dark room," he said of the superhero film.
"All movies are valid. 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 shit that's on a t-shirt."
The Oscars take place at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre and air on ABC live on Sunday, March 27.