Samuel Jackson Questions

Probably the most prolific of Tarantino's actors, Samuel Jackson has played roles in four Tarantino movies. Each of the roles are unique and one is iconic. So instead of ranking the performances, how about we ask some questions?

1. Can you make a case for Pulp Fiction's Jules NOT being Samuel Jackson's top performance?

I think I can.

There's no question Jules is the most memorable Samuel Jackson character and he's in the running for top overall Tarantino character. 26 years later, you can buy a lot of Jules merchandise - including coffee mugs and Bad Mother Fucker wallets. You could even say he made the Bible famous...what's the first quote you looked up in 1994? Jules is a cultural icon and the role created an amazing career for Samuel Jackson.

However, I think his best acting job was playing Ordell Robbie in Jackie Brown.

Ordell tends to get lost in the Tarantino universe - possibly because he's a not a dynamic character and definitely because he came after Jules, who is an impossible act to follow. True to the overall vibe of Jackie Brown, there aren't many Ordell t-shirts to be found these days. Yet, Jackson plays Ordell like the potential big time dealer he thinks he is, complete with the inflated ego and attempts to move people around like chess pieces. He gives Ordell both a seriousness and idealism that makes it almost painful to watch his supposed empire later crumble around him. In a lot of respects, Ordell is a fuck-up - he's a quintessential Elmore Leonard character who gets in too deep.

Yet Jackson never plays him as such. Even as we all know Ordell is going to lose, he remains a very dangerous character. While much of the danger results from desperation, Jackson never lets of of Ordell's edge. That streak is seen throughout the movie. Ordell's gloves are probably the meanest cue in Jackie Brown. When Jackson slips them on, the tone dramatically shifts.

Ordell isn't a complicated character - he basically just wants his money from Mexico and he's trying to clear obstacles to that end. He's a criminal - which makes him an opportunist. And because he's also an Elmore Leonard character, he has to adapt. Jackson gets his usual gold in the form of Tarantino dialogue riffs - guns and TV shows, Beaumont not doing ten years, all the "bitches he has set up." However, Jackson's best work comes when he realizes he can't intimidate Jackie. Ordell has to switch gears to placate Jackie, knowing that she's the key to both his money and ultimately, his freedom. He's Ordell the cool hang - at least until he has to slip back into another role.

2. Is Stephen the most complicated character in the Tarantino universe?

Maybe.

Or if not complicated - he's probably the most stealth.

Either way, Stephen is an amazing character and Jackson really slips into the role here. Maybe it's the makeup or the intensity of Django's second half or perhaps Jackson - like everyone else in the movie - is blanketed by DiCaprio's unhinged and often over the top Calvin Candie. Regardless of the why, I forget that Jackson is playing Stephen. At least in regards to the Tarantino universe, it's a completely unique Jackson role. He's frail, or at least aged. There's nothing physically remarkable about the character, yet he's a slave that holds a frightening amount of power over nearly everyone in the story.

Jackson plays Stephen as subservient, yet weirdly co-dependent towards Calvin Candie. At times, the two bicker like an old married couple. During these exchanges, Jackson plays Stephen as borderline deaf and dumb - almost dialing up the racist "child" analogies Candie spews. Then, around only other slaves, Jackson straightens and uses his frame to lean into and intimidate - showing that he's unquestionably in charge.

Stephen's demeanor completely changes when Django arrives. Django represents the kind of shock to the plantation system that can unravel everything. Suddenly, there's a character with another kind of power - one that is outward, physical and mysterious - everything Stephen is not. Django is immediately a threat to Stephen and ultimately, the plantation as a whole. The suspicion is immediately ratcheted up and Jackson shows it through an interesting coupling of accusatory scowls and skeptical glances.

3. Is Major Marquis Warren Jackson's most unlikable character?

Definitely.

There's not much to Major Marquis Warren. He's a brutal former Civil War soldier and he's filled with pent-up aggression. His goal is to avenge the past, which directly puts him in conflict with Sanford Smithers. However, Warren spends the majority of The Hateful Eight trying to solve the mystery unfolding at Minnie's Habadashery.

Tarantino really doesn't give Jackson a lot to work with here. While Jackson loses himself in Ordell and Stephen, there was never a moment in the movie where I didn't think - "Sam Jackson is playing a Civil War soldier." I'm not sure who Marquis Warren was supposed to be in the story - at least as a character.

4. So which Tarantino performance is Jackson's best?

Jules. Of course.