Celebrity Spotlight: Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson has been in so many movies he just can’t seem to keep count. In his upcoming film “Lakeview Terrace” Jackson plays an LAPD officer and widower raising two children alone in the suburbs. The film begins with him becoming alarmed when he discovers his new neighbors are a mixed-race couple, played by Patrick Wilson and the underrated Kerry Washington. From almost the minute they are introduced, Abel’s disapproval of the couple is clear; unlike any characters he’s played before. This role may even challenge Jackson as an actor.
“I think Abel has a definite point of view that he’s not afraid to express,” Jackson says. “He has a real opinion about how he wants the world to be and what he thinks should be going on around him and in his neighborhood. He has a definite idea about how he wants to raise his kids, what he wants them to be influenced by, and he’s not afraid to do things to make the world his way.” “I don’t know if he’s a villain. I guarantee there are a couple of people sitting there, watching the movie who go, ‘OK. I get that. I’m with him.'”
Will this role finally get Samuel L. Jackson his Oscar? We’ll just have to wait and see. It’s no secret, Jackson has express in the past that winning an Oscar in Hollywood is all a popularity contest. Pehaps it’s true, but what is undeniable is Jackson’s ability to captivate his audience no matter the role.