In recent interviews Samuel L. Jackson has dissed the hip-hop community by stating he will no longer work with rappers turned actors, but after filming movies with Eve and L.L. Cool J, respectively, the veteran actor has nearly contradicted, and he now offers an explanation.
Originally, Jackson said, as a classically trained thesbian, it was not his job to lend credibility to rappers by appearing in movies with them. However, he actor said he made those comments because there are performers who hone their craft and then a rapper with a hot single will come and take their place. “People take the business seriously and put some time in the way we did,” Jackson told AllHipHop.com. “They didn’t just wake up and say ‘oh I can act.’ Anybody can go out there and be themselves.”
There are rappers who Jackson takes seriously and he says they have put in enough time to call themselves actors. He notes a number of rappers perfected their craft through television before jumping into the movie field. “LL Cool J and Queen Latifah had an opportunity hone their craft on television shows by going to work everyday and being immersed in the craft and having to sustain a character over a period of time. That allowed them to find a way to work in this business,” Jackson said.
As for the film debut of the Shady One and “8 Mile,” Jackson said having an Oscar winning director [Curtis Hanson] alongside Eminem and an award-winning actress play his mother creates a high pedigree and suggested Hanson should be able to pull a wonderful performance from the rapper.
The film star said he doesn’t have a problem with rappers; his only gripe is with those who do not take the art of acting seriously. “If people take the business that seriously and put some time in the way we did and respect the craft and didn’t just wake up and say ‘oh I can act.’ Anybody can go out there and be themselves. That’s fine but at some point you’re going to be asked to go out there and be something else and that’s when it’s going to be time to go to work,” he said.
Jackson is currently starring in and produced Formula 51, which opened in theaters this past weekend and grossed $2.8 million dollars, landing the number 12 spot in the box office listings.