Samuel L. Jackson is the most successful movie star ever – he has the box office receipts to prove it. However, his winning streak doesn’t begin quite when Jackson first began acting in the 1970s, but it definitely steps up about 20 years later when he played philosophical hitman Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction.”
Oh sure, Jackson already had some memorable performances to his name, from “Do The Right Thing” to “Jurassic Park.” But “Pulp Fiction” is when Samuel L. Jackson (and Quentin Tarantino, for that matter) became a household name. That’s what makes Jackson’s small part in “Goodfellas” a few years prior — as a barely-there, swiftly-killed criminal — so surreal nowadays. Thanks to “Pulp Fiction,” Jackson simply doesn’t play those parts anymore.
But the part of Jules, the one that got Jackson his first and only Oscar nomination, came close to not being his at all. Tarantino originally wrote Jules with Laurence Fishburne in mind to play him (plus Michael Madsen, aka Mr. Blonde of “Reservoir Dogs,” as Vincent instead of the eventually cast John Travolta). Fishburne declined, saying years later, “[He] didn’t really respond to the [‘Pulp Fiction’] script.” As Tarantino recalled on “The Rewatchables” podcast, Fishburne’s representatives apparently told him “Pulp Fiction” wouldn’t be a good career move while his star was on the rise: 1991’s “Boyz N The Hood” was a huge success, then 1992’s “Deep Cover” was a small one that still proved Fishburne was leading man material.
With Fishburne out, Jackson won the part with a fiery audition. Could Fishburne have done it? For sure. He’s as cool and intimidating as Jules needs to be, but I think his take would be subtly different from Jackson’s. Fishburne’s temper is more of an icy fury than a fiery one, whereas Jackson always sounds like he’s on edge. Jules’ final monologue in the diner, as delivered by Fishburne, would have more of a steady calm, the kind you hear in Morpheus’ voice as he prepares Neo (Keanu Reeves) to learn the reality of the Matrix.
For want of a nail, Laurence Fishburne could’ve been in Pulp Fiction
Would you believe this exact same thing happened on “Die Hard With A Vengeance” too? Fishburne was originally offered the part of Zeus Carver, John McClane’s (Bruce Willis) co-lead, a role that also went to Jackson eventually. According to Tarantino (again via “The Rewatchables”), this switcheroo is connected to the “Pulp Fiction” one. Fishburne’s asking price to play Zeus was too high for producer Andrew Vajna, so Vajna (while attending the “Pulp Fiction” premiere for Willis) offered the part to Jackson. (in turn, Fishburne sued “Die Hard With A Vengeance” production company Cinergi Pictures.)
The “Blank Check” podcast’s episode on “Die Hard With A Vengeance” has an extended segment on this story and how these back-to-back movies shaped Jackson and Fishburne’s careers. While Jackson was being used as Fishburne’s understudy twice over, “Pulp Fiction” and “Die Hard With A Vengeance” were so successful that his star eclipsed Fishburne’s. That’s not to say Fishburne fell into obscurity or anything; playing Morpheus in “The Matrix” secured his place in Hollywood history, something he’s very happy with.
The biggest disappointment of this, though, is that Fishburne still hasn’t worked with Tarantino yet. Fishburne was Tarantino’s pick to play Marvel superhero Luke Cage, but obviously that project didn’t pan out. I doubt Tarantino is going to squander his tenth and supposedly final film on a Marvel movie, but whatever that picture ends up being, maybe he could find a place for Fishburne.
To this day, Jackson and Fishburne are still frequently confused for each other; Fishburne has signed at least one autograph for a mistaken fan with “Sam Jackson.” Putting Fishburne and Jackson onscreen together might finally make (white) people understand they aren’t the same person.
