Samuel L. Jackson Characters and Movies Quiz

Answer: Pulp Fiction

A role that netted Jackson a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, his turn in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" is likely amongst his most famous. Playing alongside John Travolta's Vincent Vega, he was Jules Winnfield, a Jehri-curl-wearing gangster who quoted the Bible and joined his partner-in-crime for the classic Royale with Cheese chat. "Pulp Fiction" would go on to be one of the most defining films of the 1990s and the role would open the door for Jackson's career.

Answer: Die Hard with a Vengeance

Releasing in 1995, "Die Hard with a Vengeance" was the third film in the series and the only one to feature Samuel L. Jackson, appearing here as John McClane's partner in New York City as they set out to stop a series of bombs. The pair would later discover that the perpetrator was none other than original "Die Hard" antagonist Hans Gruber's brother. interestingly, the role was written for Laurence Fishburne before Jackson took it; Fishburne was also the original actor in mind for the role of Jules Winnfield in "Pulp Fiction", which Jackson also claimed.

Answer: Unbreakable

Also known as Mr. Glass, Samuel L. Jackson's character in M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable" (2000) was meant as a counter to Bruce Willis' unbreakable David Dunn. The two, of course, appeared together earlier on in "Die Hard with a Vengeance". Afflicted with brittle bone disease, Jackson's character here is the antagonist and, in the twist ending, it's revealed he caused the train derailment that kicked off the events of the movie. Both of their characters later reappeared in Shyamalan's film "Glass", considered the third in the trilogy (after "Split").

Answer: Deep Blue Sea

In "Deep Blue Sea" (1999), all bets were off, and even long-established actors like Jackson didn't make it out alive. In a surprise mid-movie twist, Jackson's character, corporate bigwig Russell Franklin, was eaten by a shark while giving a motivational speech next to an open pool of water.

Originally, Jackson was offered the role of Sherman Dudley, the chef; instead, director Renny Harlin made the role that Jackson would be given and LL Cool J would be given the chef role.

Answer: The Incredibles

Also known by the moniker Frozone, Lucius Best is a supporting hero in the story of "The Incredibles", released by Disney and Pixar in 2004. At this point in his career, Jackson had only done voice acting for lesser-received films and a handful of TV episodes.

After his appearance in "The Incredibles", however, he would go on to be the lead voice actor of TV's "Afro Samurai", a show he also produced.

Answer: Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Though the "Saw" series may be considered repetitive horror/torture fare, the series' ninth installment, "Spiral", was bolstered due to Jackson's involvement and the influence of the movie's lead star, Chris Rock, who championed the offshoot iteration. Jackson played Chris Rock's father in the film, a retired police chief to be used as yet another pawn in a sick and twisted game of life and death. Jackson claims he took the role because it was a situation he had never, as any character, been placed in before.

Answer: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Appearing throughout the films of the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, Samuel L. Jackson played Mace Windu, a purple-lightsaber-adorned Jedi of notable standing on the Jedi Council. Though Windu is only in "The Phantom Menace" to appear on the council, Jackson had more to work with in the subsequent films ("Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith") as he was featured in large-scale battles and, eventually, killed by Darth Sidious during Vader's rise.

Answer: Snakes on a Plane

Made based on an internet meme and released in 2006, "Snakes on a Plane" seemed to emerge from a joke, though Samuel L. Jackson attached himself to it from the get-go, taking a campy concept and executing it to its ludicrous end. Acting as an FBI escort, Jackson played Agent Neville Flynn, assigned with taking a key witness over the Pacific from Hawaii to LA on an overnight flight. Of course, someone filled the plane with dangerous snakes.

The rest is history.

Answer: The Hateful Eight

Samuel L. Jackson would continue to reappear, on a recurring basis, in Quentin Tarantino's films though he took more prominent roles in both "Django Unchained" (2012) and "The Hateful Eight" (2018), the latter of which featured Jackson as the top-billed of the titular eight.

In this role as Major Marquis Warren he played a bounty hunter held up by an awful snowstorm en route to Wyoming. It was the sixth Tarantino-directed film (of eight) featuring Jackson.

Answer: Captain Marvel

Though this character could have been any number of films, it's simply important to note that Jackson played the role of Nick Fury across numerous Marvel Cinematic Universe productions, especially those involving the core members of the Avengers. He took a more prominent role in "Captain Marvel" (2019) which, set in the 1990s, required that he be digitally de-aged by about twenty-five years (to approximately the age he was when he starred in "Pulp Fiction".