At the age of 72, Samuel L. Jackson is still showing no signs of slowing down. He has several projects in pre and post-production at the moment, including 'The Marvels'. The actor has endured quite the career, but he'll be the first to admit, it didn't come without issues behind the scenes.
During his earlier days, Jackson was earning his stripes in the world of theater and although he was putting on incredible performances, behind the scenes, he was struggling with addiction.
We'll take a look back at that point in his life, along with finding out who played a huge role in shaping his career and finally allowing him to break out of his past habits.
Samuel's Career Started With Theater
For Samuel L. Jackson, his career got underway with a passion for theater. He loved not only watching himself work and the anticipation of a project, but he also enjoyed the crowd reaction that came with it. Back in the day, for the iconic celebrity, it was all about getting feedback from the crowd.
"That's what I was taught when I was doing theater," he said. "That, when you come on stage, you want to light it up to the point that, when you leave, people want to go with you. And I hope that's who I am when I show up."
Of course, years later, he would rise up to legendary status on the big-screen. Still, Jackson doesn't want to be referred to as a legend, despite all his work.
According to his words with Cinema Blend, legends should be identified in a different light.
"Legends are people who accomplish things that can’t be accomplished by other people, or did something that’s super extraordinary. I just persevered through hard work and doggedness to get where I am."
What a lot of fans didn't know is that at the time of his theater work, Jackson was hitting the stage completely straight and he had started to develop an addiction.
Jackson Hardly Ever Hit The Stage Sober When He Started
"You know, I wasn't managing it as well as I used to. That's when they were issues. Before that, it was just life. You know, I drank, I smoked. I got high. You know, it wasn't in the way of my life in that way, or I didn't think it was."
Soon enough, that tendency worsened, as Jackson would use other drugs to fulfill his addiction. Not only that but hitting the stage sober was hardly ever taking place. For each performance, he was relying on his addiction.
"I was a drug addict and I was out of my mind a lot of the time, but I had a good reputation. Showed up on time, knew my lines, hit my marks. I just wasn’t making a lot of money, but I was very satisfied artistically. I was doing Pulitzer prize-winning plays.''
"I was working with people who made me better, who challenged me. So I was doing things the right way, it was just that one thing that was in the way - my addiction. And once that was out of the way, it was – boom! The door blew wide open.”
Finding that clear mind changed his career entirely and looking back, Jackson has a specific person to thank for it.
LaTanya Richardson Jackson Changed His Ways
Married since 1980, Jackson claims he and his wife are still "glued together" all these years later. Not only that Jackson's wife was a huge part of him finally getting sober.
She would offer advice pertaining to his career and it was only when he had a clear mind that he was able to understand. According to Jackson alongside The Guardian, that was the moment where everything changed for him.
“I’ve always had my wife LaTanya, who’s my harshest critic. She’d say: ‘You’re so intelligent that the first time you read something, you think you understand it intellectually and emotionally, then you find the vocal inflections and the facial expressions – and you can get there with that. But there’s no blood in it.’ And I’m like: ‘It’s all make-believe, what in the hell you talking about?"
"And it wasn’t until I got sober that I knew fully what she meant. Before, I used to do stuff on stage and kinda look for the reaction from the audience – ‘Aha! I got ’em good that time!’ And once I was able to ignore that, and focus on the relationships with the people I was onstage with, I was finally able to blossom into whatever I might think I am now.”
Jackson never looked back after that moment, blazing through Hollywood and becoming a giant star.