Samuel L. Jackson Shares Bruce Willis' Die Hard Advice, Realizes It After MCU's Nick Fury Deal

Legend to legend, Samuel L. Jackson shared a profound piece of advice he received from Bruce Willis while filming the 1994 action blockbuster, Die Hard With a Vengeance. Willis imparted wisdom on the importance of finding an iconic character that fans would always welcome back, even when other projects might not succeed. "He told me, 'Hopefully you’ll be able to find a character that, when you make bad movies and they don’t make any money, you can always go back to this character everybody loves,'" Jackson recalled in a special piece celebrating Willis’ 70th birthday with Vanity Fair.

Willis explained his own career anchors: "Arnold [Schwarzenegger]'s got Terminator. Sylvester [Stallone]'s got Rocky and Rambo. I’ve got John McClane." Initially, Jackson didn't fully grasp the advice until he landed the role of Nick Fury. "I’m like, 'Oh, okay.' And it didn’t occur to me until I got that Nick Fury role — and I had a nine-picture deal to be Nick Fury — that, 'Oh, I’m doing what Bruce said. I’ve got this character now.'"

Jackson debuted as Nick Fury in a post-credits scene in 2008’s Iron Man. His portrayal of the iconic Marvel character took center stage in 2010’s Iron Man 2. Since then, Jackson has reprised the role in 10 films, three TV series, and two video games, with recent appearances in the 2023 film The Marvels, the series Secret Invasion, and a voice role in the Season 2 finale of the animated series Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

In a light-hearted moment, Jackson reflected on his nine-film contract with Marvel, expressing humorous concern about completing it before his passing. "I knew I had a nine picture deal when Kevin [Feige] said, he was like, ‘We wanna offer you a nine picture deal’ I was like, 'How long I gotta stay alive to make nine movies?'" he told GQ in September 2024. Jackson was surprised by the rapid pace of Marvel's production, noting, "It's not the quickest process in the world and people don't do it, so I didn't know they were gonna make nine movies in like two-and-a-half years. Which is kind of crazy. I was like 'Oh s—t, I'm using up my contracts!' but it worked out."