When it comes to this year's Oscar race, Samuel L. Jackson seems to be giving the Academy the knowing evil eye.
The 64-year-old actor recently admitted he was none too pleased when he was passed up for an Academy Award in 1994, all but revealing his intention to win the award this year for his role as house slave Stephen in "Django Unchained."
Marking his only Oscar nomination to date, Jackson lost the golden statuette in 1995 to Martin Landau who won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for playing Bela Lugosi in "Ed Wood." But this isn't necessarily news: If you were watching Jackson's reaction closely as the award was announced -- by a young Anna Paquin, mind you -- you saw his mouth form what appears to be the word "sh--" (watch here at 1:14-in).
"I really don’t know many people who can not only remember 'Ed Wood' but remember what Martin Landau did in it," Jackson told Deadline about his disappointment over losing his only shot thus far at the prestigious acting award.
Landau, left, with his 1995 Oscar, and Paquin (Photo: James Aylott/Getty Images)And
to state the obvious, that was the year he was nominated for arguably
his most famous role -- the oddly philosophical, tough-as-nails hit man
Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction."
"You know they were saying 'Martin’s been nominated a few times and
you’re going to be around for a while. Don’t worry.' I was thinking I
didn’t know it was a thing where if you get nominated for a few times
you automatically get one. I thought it was supposed to be about
impact."
Incidentally, Jackson shared the supporting actor loss that year with Gary Sinise ("Forrest Gump"), Chazz Palminteri ("Bullets Over Broadway") and the late Paul Scofield ("Quiz Show." Scofield also won a Best Actor Oscar in 1967 for "A Man for All Seasons").
It stands to reason if Landau got one that was overdue, this could very well be Jackson's year to win. But, controversy over the film's racially-charged content aside, there is at least one hurdle standing in Jackson's way: He wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe.
While "Django" has earned five Globe nominations -- including two supporting actor nods for Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz -- Jackson wasn't included. But he's not worried. "I understand what the Golden Globes is. It's the only show they [the Hollywood Foreign Press Association] have and is their biggest moneymaker so you have to pack the room with people that are going to make people tune into that show. With popular actors and the popular television shows, it’s whoever they think people want to see on the red carpet and hope that they win, not necessarily the quality of work you’ve done," he told Deadline.
Jackson in 'Django Unchained' (Image credit: The Weinstein Company)Jackson's
awards-season irreverence didn't end there. He went on to say he
doesn't try to game the system like other actors who seem to only take
roles that have "Oscar potential." "I do movies I want to see myself.
Like Quentin, he writes the movies he wants to see. I tend to take
roles that I want to see me in. I enjoy movies for the audience aspect
of it," he added.
Like other actors who have garnered significant Oscar buzz this year --namely, Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Lawrence -- Jackson has been letting it all hang out. He recently dared a reporter to say the n-word and also trashed the ending of fellow awards-season favorite "Lincoln."
Could this possibly be a new Oscar campaign strategy? Form your own armchair opinion next week when nominations are announced on Thursday morning, and ultimately when the winners are named on February 24th.
"Django Unchained" is in theaters now.
The 64-year-old actor recently admitted he was none too pleased when he was passed up for an Academy Award in 1994, all but revealing his intention to win the award this year for his role as house slave Stephen in "Django Unchained."
Marking his only Oscar nomination to date, Jackson lost the golden statuette in 1995 to Martin Landau who won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for playing Bela Lugosi in "Ed Wood." But this isn't necessarily news: If you were watching Jackson's reaction closely as the award was announced -- by a young Anna Paquin, mind you -- you saw his mouth form what appears to be the word "sh--" (watch here at 1:14-in).
"I really don’t know many people who can not only remember 'Ed Wood' but remember what Martin Landau did in it," Jackson told Deadline about his disappointment over losing his only shot thus far at the prestigious acting award.
[Related: Leonardo DiCaprio’s real blood is in ‘Django Unchained’ scene]
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Incidentally, Jackson shared the supporting actor loss that year with Gary Sinise ("Forrest Gump"), Chazz Palminteri ("Bullets Over Broadway") and the late Paul Scofield ("Quiz Show." Scofield also won a Best Actor Oscar in 1967 for "A Man for All Seasons").
It stands to reason if Landau got one that was overdue, this could very well be Jackson's year to win. But, controversy over the film's racially-charged content aside, there is at least one hurdle standing in Jackson's way: He wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe.
While "Django" has earned five Globe nominations -- including two supporting actor nods for Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz -- Jackson wasn't included. But he's not worried. "I understand what the Golden Globes is. It's the only show they [the Hollywood Foreign Press Association] have and is their biggest moneymaker so you have to pack the room with people that are going to make people tune into that show. With popular actors and the popular television shows, it’s whoever they think people want to see on the red carpet and hope that they win, not necessarily the quality of work you’ve done," he told Deadline.
[Related: Jamie Foxx tells Yahoo! Movies of a confrontation with racism during his youth]
 |
Like other actors who have garnered significant Oscar buzz this year --namely, Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Lawrence -- Jackson has been letting it all hang out. He recently dared a reporter to say the n-word and also trashed the ending of fellow awards-season favorite "Lincoln."
Could this possibly be a new Oscar campaign strategy? Form your own armchair opinion next week when nominations are announced on Thursday morning, and ultimately when the winners are named on February 24th.
"Django Unchained" is in theaters now.
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