How Old Is Samuel L. Jackson?

Samuel L. Jackson is one of the highest grossing actors in Hollywood. And he never seems to age or slow down. His new film, Glass, is slated to premiere January 18, 2019. Acting alongside James McAvoy and Bruce Willis, this one is sure to be a box office hit.

Let’s take a look at Jackson’s life and career.

Samuel L. Jackson’s age

To understand just what makes Jackson such a great actor, we need to take a look at his past. Jackson was born December 21, 1948 in Washington D.C., making him 70 years old. He was an only child, raised by his mother and his maternal grandparents. His family moved to Tennessee where he graduated from high school having attended several segregated schools. He took up many several woodwind instruments during his early years. He has long had a stuttering problem, which still surfaces at times today.

Jackson attended Morehouse College in Atlanta where he became interested in acting. At the same time, he became active in the civil rights movement. He served as an usher at Martin L. King Jr.’s funeral in 1968.

Eyeing reformation of governance at Morehouse College, Jackson was involved in holding the school’s Board of Trustees hostage in 1969 for which he was arrested and charged with a second-degree felony. He was suspended from Morehouse for two years and moved to L.A. where he worked as a social worker.

Jackson’s launch of an acting career

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7_JfZ6T-Ds

Jackson moved back to Atlanta and then on to New York City in the ’70s where he became involved in the theater. Alcoholism and drug abuse interfered, but he went on to play small roles in the film industry. He met Morgan Freeman who quickly became Jackson’s mentor and introduced him to director Spike Lee.

In the late ’80s, Lee cast Jackson in small roles for School Daze and Do the Right Thing. Shortly after, Jackson received another minor role in the Martin Scorsese film, Goodfellas.

In the early ’90s, Jackson’s family entered him into a New York rehab clinic, which he successfully completed. Shortly afterward he portrayed a crack-addict In Lee’s Jungle Fever. The biz started to take notice of him with the 1991 Cannes Film Festival creating a special Supporting Actor award just for his part in the film.

Jackson began performing in comedies which kept him busy until he landed the part of Ray Arnold when Michael Crichton’s book, Jurassic Park, was transformed to the big screen by Steven Spielberg in 1993.

Jackson’s stardom was confirmed

From the mid-90s through to today Jackson has acted in box office hits and award-winning performances. He was nominated in 1994 for the Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor for his work in Pulp Fiction and won the British Academy Film and Television Award in the same category. He also received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for the same role. Other Golden Globe nominations have come for his work in Against the Wall, A Time to Kill, and Jackie Brown, all from the ’90s.

While there’s been a lack of awards attention following the turn of the century, Jackson’s work and his fans have kept him busy on the big screen and television. He appeared as Jedi Master Mace Windu in Star War films and as Marshall Butler in the HBO documentary Unchained Memories. Other films have included The Other Guys and The Sunset Limited.

Over the years, Jackson has appeared on Saturday Night Live, where he dropped the f-bomb on live TV.

In 2009 Jackson landed his nine-picture deal with Marvel to portray Nick Fury. It followed with a flurry of recognition through action figures and video games in which Jackson has done voiceovers for his character. Jackson also appears in Capital One credit card commercials.

More about Jackson’s personal life

Jackson has been married to his wife, LaTanya Richardson, since 1980. Richardson in her own right is also an actor and producer. They met while attending Morehouse College and have one daughter, Zoe, born in 1982.

We cannot wait until the Glass premiere and witnessing Jackson’s performance first hand! We’re also looking forward to seeing what else 2019 will bring for Jackson. Stay tuned.