Marvel star Samuel L Jackson is a legendary actor who has been a part of many incredible movies. It has been a long time since the actor has been working in the film industry. By this time, the actor has gained so much experience that he works on his own terms.
Previously, the actor claimed that he had certain rules while filming a scene. The actor asserted that the takes should not be more than a specific number, as he doesn’t want the filmmakers to mess up his performance.
Samuel L Jackson works on his terms
When it comes to work, Samuel L Jackson prefers working on his terms. Working in the cinema field has given the Marvel star the ability to analyze his work and make sure it isn’t hampered. The actor once revealed that he strictly follows some rules when it comes to filming a scene.
The actor claimed that he allows the director to take just three takes of a scene in which he appears. The actor was coaxed to impose such a rule because once while filming the 1996 crime drama A Time to Kill, his scene got so messed up that it depicted a completely different scene. The actor portrayed the role of Carl Lee, who murders to protect his daughter.
The scene, which could have landed very vividly, got a completely different meaning when the director of the film, Joel Schumacher, edited out all the major context in the post-production, and the final scene looked completely different from what was planned. The actor explained that due to the editing of the scene, it appeared that Carl Lee is a murderer who “killed white people and connived to get away with it.” Jackson said,
“When I saw it, I was sitting there like, ‘Oh, that’s right.’ They’re in control of the shit. It’s a director’s medium; they could do what they want to do to make it change. Which leads me to now, when I’m on a movie set and the motherf*cker says, ‘Can we try this?’ Sometimes I’ll be like, ‘Naw.’ I don’t do more than three. I don’t get to go to the editing room, but you do. And you’re going to put that thing that you asked me to do in there because that’s the thing you like. So if I don’t do it, I don’t have to worry about you fucking with my performance.’”
Indeed, one experience certainly helped Jackson be more conscious of his scenes.
Samuel L Jackson missed out on an Academy Award due to excessive editing of a scene
During an interview, Samuel L Jackson expressed the grief of missing out on the Academy Awards because a good scene got messed up as it lost its authenticity due to excessive editing. The actor said,
“The things they took out kept me from getting an Oscar. Really, motherf—ers? You just took that shit from me?”
The Secret Invasion actor was quite adamant that he had perfectly aced the role and that it deserved an Oscar, but since the director decided to depict it in his style, the scene lost its charm and Jackson lost a possible Academy Award.