Page 3 Profile: Samuel L Jackson, actor

Samuel L Jackson, actor (Getty)

Ah, everybody’s favourite fictional cheeseburger-loving hitman

The actor and producer, who has starred in films such as Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained, has been promoting his new movie, RoboCop, a remake of the 1987 picture. Be careful not to confuse him with fellow Hollywood heavyweight Laurence Fishburne though…

Why would I do that?

Well, a US newscaster seemed to have that problem yesterday when he was interviewing Jackson on the KTLA morning news programme, asking him: “Did you get a lot of reaction from that Super Bowl commercial?”

What Super Bowl commercial?

That’s what Jackson wanted to know. Entertainment reporter Sam Rubin was referring to an advert for the new Kia sedan featuring Fishburne, who starred in the Matrix franchise. In the advert, which aired during the Super Bowl earlier this month, Fishburne reprised his role as Morpheus, saying: “Take the blue key and go back to the luxury you know. Take the red key and you’ll never look at luxury the same again.”

How embarrassing…

Jackson certainly had a few choice words for the presenter. The conversation progressed from embarrassing to uncomfortable to downright painful.

Was Jackson’s rebuke awash with profanity, à la Pulp Fiction?

No, he managed to showcase admirable restraint, though no doubt the bleep-machine operator was anxiously hovering over the button, ready to spring into action. However, Jackson refused to let Rubin off the hook, despite the anchor’s attempts to apologise and then laugh it off. “You’re as crazy as the people on Twitter; I’m not Laurence Fishburne. We all look alike? We’re all black and famous,” Jackson said. “Let’s talk about RoboCop,” Rubin suggested. Jackson’s response? “Hell, no.”

How long did this dressing down go on for?

An excruciating two minutes. “You don’t know the difference between me and Laurence Fishburne?” Jackson asked. “There’s more than one black guy doing a commercial… I’m the ‘What’s in your wallet?’ black guy,” he said, referring to an advert he has fronted for credit card company Capital One. “He’s the car black guy.”