Samuel L. Jackson Has A Surprising Choice For His Favorite Character He’s Ever Played

Samuel L. Jackson’s movies have earned over $5.7 billion at the box office, making him the highest-grossing actor of all-time (his closest competitor, Harrison Ford, is “only” at $4.9 billion). SLJ will add to his staggering total this weekend with the release of Glass, the highly-anticipated sequel to Unbreakable and Split, as well as Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel. Over his five-decades long career, he’s played a lot of characters — he wagers around 120 (or “it’s only maybe 100,” he considered) — and on Monday’s episode of The Tonight Show, Jackson was asked to name his five favorites.

Unsurprisingly, Nick Fury, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ranks number five (he may drop out if Jackson doesn’t get paid, though). Number four is the Quentin Tarantino trifecta: Ordell from Jackie Brown, Jules from Pulp Fiction, and Stephen from Django Unchained. (Sorry, The Hateful Eight.) Number three: Mace Windu from Star Wars (“Come on, he’s a Jedi!”). And his favorite (Jackson skipped over the runner-up): Mitch Henessey from The Long Kiss Goodnight, who he describes as “this kind of wacky, kind of private detective, kind of crazy dude.” He also showered praise on his co-star Geena Davis, and told a story about the audience’s reaction to his dying during a test screening.

Jackson’s list leaves off his characters from Jungle Fever, Jurassic Park, Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Great White Hype, uh, Snakes on a Plane, Kingsman: The Secret Service, and Do the Right Thing, which is a shame, because it would have been fun to hear him say “Mister Señor Love Daddy.”

Watch the entire clip above.

— Fallon Tonight (@FallonTonight) January 15, 2019