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Samuel L. Jackson

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Laura Sasso, Marcela Assi, Pedro Hessel, Pedro Paraíso and Renata Krakauer

“Those who say that money can’t buy happiness, never had any.” is a famous quote by Samuel L. Jackson, who was abandoned by his father when he was a child. Despite that, Samuel still managed to become one of the most successful Hollywood stars. He was born on December 21 in 1948 and has appeared in more than 100 movies, including “The Avengers” as Nick Fury, and “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” as Mace Windu. On top of that, he heads a charity organization named “One for the boys”. Have you ever watched any of his movies? 

Born in Washington D.C., and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Samuel Leroy Jackson had a pretty rough childhood. As quoted before, he was abandoned by his father, who was also an alcoholic, in his early years of life, which led  in the Oscar winning actor having to be raised by his maternal aunt and grandparents, since his mother worked in Washington D.C. In his teenage years, Jackson studied in a number of segregated schools, having graduated in “Riverside High School”  Before discovering himself as an actor, Samuel L. Jackson dreamt of pursuing marine biology at morehouse college. Furthermore, when he graduated as an actor, Jackson co-founded the group “Just Us theatre”.

Samuel Jackson studied in Morehouse College, in Atlanta. However, in 1969, during his first year, he was expelled due a protest against the lack of black people in the school and curriculum administration. The protest was carried out together with his friends, among them, Sr. Martin Luther King. After the muderof Martin Luther King Jr, one of Jackson’s friends, he said that, because of it, the protests would no longer be peaceful. Despite being suspended, in 1972 he came back to study scenic arts and during his college studies, he met his wife, LaTanya Richardson; together they had a daughter named Zoe. Acting was not the only thing he used to do, as an Humanitarian, he started a charity to raise money to fight against Alzheimer's disease. Even though, as a black man, opportunities were not easy for Samuel, in 1976 he moved to New York to pursue his career as an actor without severe perimeters of race.  

During his acting career, Samuel L. Jackson has managed to claim a lot of awards. This can be completely related to his stunning performances, due to his huge talent. Among his accomplishments are the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award which he won in 1991, for being considered the best supporting actor on the movie Jungle Fever, the BAFTA Award, in 1994 on the movie ‘Pulp Fiction’. After the release of this movie, the world started to realise who Samuel L. Jackson really was. He became a world icon after it. And more recently, in 2013, he won the NAACP Image Award’ for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for the movie ‘Django Unchained’. This was after 19 years that he had won the prize that showed who he was to the whole world, proving that age is not a problem.

Nowadays, we know that besides being an icon of cinemas, Samuel Leroy Jackson is also a very important man for the Black Power movement, considering his protests have been made since he was a child. With his life story, we can learn that anything is possible, when there is dedication and commitment, even when life's obstacles try to bring you down. In fact, his life is an example for many people who seek to do what he does.