Samuel L. Jackson's career is vast, but his acting persona will forever be attached to Jules Winnfield, the character he played in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction back in 1994. In fact, if it weren't for Pulp Fiction, Jackson's acting career probably wouldn't have reached the celebrity status in which he sits today. Audiences may be unable to see Winnfield being played by another actor because he is Samuel L. Jackson. However, Tarantino was eyeing another actor at the time.
When Tarantino finished the script for Pulp Fiction, he envisioned Laurence Fishburne playing Jules Winnfield. However, upon being offered the part, Fishburne turned it down because he had a problem with the way the film dealt with the use of heroin. "I just felt it was a little cavalier, and it was a little loose," Fishburne explained during an interview. "I felt it made heroin use attractive. For me, it's not just my character. It's 'What is the whole thing saying?'" Assuming this could happen, Tarantino had thought of Paul Calderon as a second choice to play the part.
Upon reading the script, Jackson flew to Los Angeles specifically to audition. Calderon got scheduled to read the part in a casting session that would be followed by Jackson. But Tarantino was late to the audition, which left Calderon quite frustrated and upset with the delays. Jackson, on the other hand, used that fluster to fuel his audition, delivering a rant that presented Tarantino with the Jules Winnfield he was looking for. "He just stole the part," recalled producer Richard Gladstein as it became apparent right there and then that they had found the right Winnfield.
Jackson made such an impression that they ended up tailoring the role around his talent. His persona in Pulp Fiction became iconic, and it stemmed much from his audition, where he entered holding a burger in one hand and a drink in the other. "Me and Quentin and Lawrence were sitting on the couch, and he walked in and just started sipping that shake and biting that burger and looking at all of us," continued Gladstein. "I was scared shitless." Much of the film's success, besides the brilliance of Tarantino's writing and direction, was due to Jackson's unique performance.
From then on, his career sky-rocketed. He became an A-list actor, a regular in Quentin Tarantino's films, got a prominent role in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, and, of course, became the only possible impersonation of Nick Fury for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was even cast specifically to fight Snakes on a Plane. In a curious turn of events, Fishburne lost his role in Die Hard With a Vengeance to Jackson because producers thought he'd be better sharing the screen with Bruce Willis. Both actors had starred in Pulp Fiction despite their characters never meeting on screen.
Jackson's career might never have been the same if it wasn't for Jules Winnfield. It definitely is the role of his life. But things might have been different if he didn't use Tarantino's lateness and a burger and drink to deliver the best audition. Jackson is due to return to the MCU in the Disney+ series Secret Invasion, which is still missing a release date, and the upcoming sequel to Captain Marvel titled The Marvels on July 28, 2023.