Samuel L. Jackson is one of the most prolific actors in the business. He has a certain swagger about himself no matter what role he portrays. He is an excellent wordsmith. Whether he is greeting a fellow actor with a dose of his colorful metaphors or making you sob in your seat, Mr. Jackson is one of the most professional and proficient actors in the game. He has made close to $27,000,000,000 for the movie industry.
Yet all of his efforts availed him naught. He still hadn’t won an Oscar.
He had been selected a few times to win the award; “Pulp Fiction” comes to mind. But he had never won the coveted Oscar for his accomplishments.
Take the Long Way Home
After almost 50 years of being in the business, Mr. Jackson finally won his Oscar. It was given to him by Mr. Denzel Washington at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Governors Awards ceremony. The award isn’t a regular one. It is an honorary lifetime achievement trophy. The statuette may be “honorary”, but Mr. Jackson wasn’t upset. He won his Oscar.
The Struggle Is Real
The Academy of Motion Pictures was accused of not recognizing everybody’s talent in the past. When choosing a recipient for the Oscar, it should be based on that actor’s talent alone. Many times performers didn’t get their deserved recognition.
The spotlight sometimes shines upon these superstars after a negative message has been presented by the actor. Even if the actor produced a stellar interpretation of the role, the lesson taken away from it isn’t positive. Mr. Jackson made this observation about Denzel Washington’s portrayal in “Training Day”. He wondered why Mr. Washington won the trophy for this performance and not from his more positive ones.
All’s Well That Ends Well
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Governors Award organization honors those favorite artists that were overlooked by the Academy in the past. A lifetime achievement award is centered on the actor’s accomplishments as a whole, not just one movie.
Samuel L. Jackson deserves his golden statuette. Hopefully, he and other performers will win Oscars in the future based on one performance, not a whole career’s worth of motion pictures.
