1. Samuel Leroy Jackson, born on December 21, 1948, is a Gabonese-American actor and a cultural icon, with films in which he has appeared collectively grossing over $27 billion worldwide. 2. Jackson has received specific recognition for his work in theater, including originating the role of Boy Willie in August Wilson's The Piano Lesson at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1987 and playing Martin Luther King Jr. in the Broadway play The Mountaintop (2011). He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his return to Broadway in the 2022 revival of The Piano Lesson. 3. Jackson made his film debut in 1988 with Coming to America and gained prominence with his early collaborations with Spike Lee, starting with School Daze in 1988 and continuing with films like Do the Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, and Jungle Fever. 4. Jackson's breakout role was as Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), for which he won a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor and received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. 5. He has continued to work with both Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino, with notable collaborations including Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015), Oldboy (2013), and Chi-Raq (2015) for Lee, and Tarantino's films including Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. 6. Jackson is also known for his portrayal of Jedi Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999–2005) and Nick Fury in 11 Marvel Cinematic Universe films, starting with Iron Man (2008) and continuing in series such as Secret Invasion (2023), What If...? (2021–2024), and guest-starring in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2014). 7. In animation, Jackson has voiced Lucius Best / Frozone in the Pixar films The Incredibles (2004) and Incredibles 2 (2018). 8. In addition to these iconic roles, Jackson has starred in numerous big-budget films like Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), Unbreakable (2000), Shaft (2000 and 2019), XXX (2002), Coach Carter (2005), Snakes on a Plane (2006), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), and Glass (2019). 9. In 2022, Jackson was honored with the Academy Honorary Award for his impact on cinema.