Samuel L. Jackson Wanted to Cameo in ‘Indiana Jones’ to Topple Harrison Ford as the Highest Grossing Actor
Samuel L. Jackson has starred in several hit blockbusters, making his films some of the highest grossing projects seen in cinema. Only a few, like Harrison Ford, have managed to rival or surpass Jackson’s combined box-office intake.
But Jackson felt all he needed was to appear in one more Indiana Jones movie to secure his rank.
Samuel L. Jackson on being the highest grossing actor of all time
Not many actors have starred in as many blockbusters with their names on them as Jackson has. Some of his most well-known franchises, like Star Wars and Marvel’s The Avengers, have grossed billions of dollars in box-office revenue.
Megastar Harrison Ford, however, once managed to beat Jackson as far as highest-grossing films went. Some of Ford’s most successful projects included hits in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.
Jackson was well-aware that Ford’s box-office numbers were more than his own. He figured at one point he only needed to star in one more feature to secure the top spot. He felt an Indiana Jones movie would help add more to his box-office numbers, and asked George Lucas if he could join the franchise.
“George said, ‘Well, if you wanna stay in front of Harrison then we’ve got to figure out a way to get you in Raiders,” Jackson recalled according to Irish Examiner. “So now they’re shooting Raiders and I’ve been calling him; he won’t return my calls. Can you believe it? He’s dogging me.”
Jackson shared that he didn’t plan for his cameo to amount to much.
“All I want to do is run across screen, I don’t have to say anything. I just wanna run through the movie, get my name in the credits, so I can stay in front of Harrison,” Jackson said.
The surprising movie Samuel L. Jackson felt gave him the upper hang against Harrison Ford
Jackson felt that Ford didn’t stay ahead of him for long. In an interview with BBC, the Pulp Fiction star shared that Ford might have only been $50 million ahead of him at the time. But the actor believed this changed when he did The Legend of Tarzan. The 2016 movie pulled in $356.7 million at the box-office, which might have been more than enough to claim the top spot.
If Tarzan didn’t do it, Jackson had a few films in mind he thought for sure would help him beat Ford.
“I’ve got a couple of other movies coming out,” he said. “And probably by the time we do Incredibles 2 I’ll kill it!”
How Samuel L. Jackson contributed to his films’ box-office success
Jackson shared that he doesn’t just star in his projects. When his movies hit theaters, he usually helps boost ticket sales by being a paid customer. He has no problems watching himself in his own films, and makes sure his movies make at least $1,000 at the box office.
“I go to the theater. I know when I have a movie that’s opening, I know it’s going to make at least $1,000 that weekend because I buy $1,000 worth of tickets. I give them to the church or I give them to somebody and their kids go,” Jackson said on The Graham Norton Show.
But Jackson continued that he only saw his movies after they’d been in the theaters for a while.
“To see what normal people are saying or doing while they’re watching the film to see how they react to it,” he said. “When you go to a premiere, I mean everybody’s there to kiss your ass. They’re gonna love the movie. ‘Oh my God, you are amazing,’ you know.”
To Jackson, seeing the movie with audiences was a more accurate gauge of fan response.
“You go with some regular people and they go out of the movie, ‘This movie sucked!,’” he said. “‘But that Sam Jackson was just the s***. He’s always the s***.’”
