25 Actors Who Started Later in Life

Samuel L. Jackson

He may be ubiquitous now, appearing in wall to wall Marvel films and Capital One commercials, but Samuel L. Jackson’s rise to fame came in a trickle. Through the ’70’s and most of the ’80’s, Jackson performed on stage and in small bit parts for television and feature films. Even after landing his first leading role, acting opposite Emilio Estevez in 1993’s spoof National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon I, Jackson was mostly a vaguely recognizable “that guy” on the big screen. After some high profile supporting role in films like Jurassic Park, True Romance and Jungle Fever, Samuel L Jackson exploded into stardom with his performance in Quentin Tarentino’s seminal crime film Pulp Fiction. He was 46 at the time.

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