Samuel L. Jackson never backed down from making bold choices, especially when it came to his look. In Pulp Fiction, his character, Jules Winnfield, became instantly recognizable with his jheri curl wig. But getting that hairstyle on screen wasn’t easy. Jackson had to fight Quentin Tarantino for it.
Jackson always saw his appearance as part of his craft. Early in his career, he made a conscious effort to change up his look for every role. For Pulp Fiction, he had a vision for Jules’ hair – one that Tarantino didn’t share at first.
“It was my deliberate choice to be as different as I possibly could in as many films as I could,” Jackson told Gentleman’s Journal. “So I made my face and my hair and my beard my canvas. It was my idea for the wig in Pulp Fiction. Quentin [Tarantino] had actually sent a girl to South Central to buy an afro wig ’cause he was referencing Blaxploitation. But she came back with this jheri curl wig. Quentin was losing it. And I said, ‘Hold on, let’s try it…’”
That decision changed everything. Jules’ slick, curled hair became as iconic as his philosophical monologues. Jackson’s instincts paid off, proving he knew exactly how to make a character unforgettable.
By the time Pulp Fiction hit, Jackson had spent over a decade in Hollywood. He had solid roles in Do the Right Thing and Goodfellas, but Jules Winnfield made him a star. His sharp delivery and screen presence were undeniable, yet Hollywood still lagged in casting Black actors.
“Casting Black actors is still strange for Hollywood,” Jackson explained in the same interview. “Denzel gets the offer first. Then Danny Glover, Forest Whitaker, and Wesley Snipes. Right now, I’m the next one on the list.”
That ranking didn’t last long. Jackson went from fighting for roles to becoming one of the most bankable actors in the industry. With over 140 films under his belt, he became the highest-grossing actor of all time.
His days of convincing directors about wigs were long gone. But his instinct for creating legendary characters never faded.
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