Samuel L. Jackson says his 'biggest concern' playing Nick Fury in the MCU was that he could potentially be killed off: 'I kind of liked the gig'

• Samuel L. Jackson spoke to Rolling Stone about returning as Nick Fury for the show "Secret Invasion."
• Jackson said that his "biggest concern with Marvel" was preventing the studio from killing off Fury.

Longtime Marvel star Samuel L. Jackson said that he was worried that the studio would axe his character, Nick Fury.

"My biggest concern with Marvel was trying to keep them from killing me more than anything else," Jackson told Rolling Stone in a new interview published on Tuesday. "I kind of liked the gig!"

The actor added that every time he had a meeting with Marvel, he was worried that he'd be informed of plans to eliminate Fury.

"When they called me in to tell me what's going on, I always thought they were trying to kill me," he said.

Jackson made his first appearance as a spy in the end-credits scene of the 2008 film "Iron Man." Since then, he's become a fixture in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, popping up in standalone superhero movies as well as ensemble films.

After 15 years of playing Fury, Jackson is finally getting his own project, "Secret Invasion." The show, which debuts on Disney+ on Wednesday, centers on Fury teaming up with his allies as the shape-shifters known as Skrulls infiltrate Earth.

Jackson described the series as "gritty and dark," and told Rolling Stone that he hadn't previously rallied for his own Marvel project. But there were also some films, like "Captain America: Civil War," that he thought his character should have been part of.

Although "Secret Invasion" is set in the present-day MCU, the actor said that he "always wanted to tell the story about who Nick was before he had these superhero friends — when he lived in the shadow world as a spy, and how he connected with these people."

"I've been grateful for the work and the character," he said of his Marvel journey.