Samuel L. Jackson officially has his Oscar nearly 30 years after his sole nomination for Pulp Fiction in 1995. Even better, his friend Denzel Washington was on hand to honor him at the Governors Awards on Friday night.
The night of honorary awards by the Academy ahead of Sunday’s Oscars typically honors those who have been overlooked by the awards over the years or who have delivered a body of work worthy of honorary praise instead of a sole achievement. It’s hard to say what’s better unless you’re in the running for an award, but for Sam Jackson, it seems none of that matters. He’s happy as can be to receive the honor.
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Washington kicked off the moment by teasing some gentle, friendly roasting, quickly relenting for a far more celebratory introduction. “Nah, I’m not gonna do that. Let me tell you something: We go back so far,” Washington shared with the crowd while running down the immense resume that carried Jackson to the stage. “I don’t know what y’all been doing, but that’s what he’s been doing.” He also added that Jackson likely has the most significant box office take for any actor, earning $27 billion during his career.
Those words, the montage and the acknowledgment of “motherf-er” as an essential part of his career are excellent. But all you really need to see is Washington’s reaction to his friend walking to the stage to collect his statue.
Jackson was joined by Danny Glover, Elaine May and Liv Ullmann as honorees on Friday night, held next door to the Dolby Theater where Sunday’s event will take place. Jackson thanked his wigmaker, his wife, Quentin Tarantino, while also delivering some chuckles thanks to his early career credits.
“It’s been a real pleasure making indelible impressions on audiences (playing characters named) ‘Gang Member No. 2,’ ‘Bum,’ ‘Hold-up Man,’ and the unforgettable ‘Black guy,’ just to name a few,” Jackson said to laughs from those in attendance. The reaction to this is only equaled by Jackson’s own jovial response to Spike Lee finally winning an Oscar for Black KKKlansman during the main Oscars telecast in 2019. While it technically wasn’t his first trophy, the moment was still fantastic.
Congratulations to Jackson on his honorary Oscar and for delivering compelling performances for years, even without the awards love he deserved alongside them. Hopefully, this isn’t his last Academy Award.
