Legend to legend advice: Samuel L. Jackson reveals Bruce Willis's sage career guidance. While filming the 1994 action classic Die Hard With a Vengeance, Bruce Willis offered Jackson some invaluable advice. "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 recounted to Vanity Fair in a tribute celebrating Willis's 70th birthday. Willis continued, citing Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator, Sylvester Stallone's Rocky and Rambo, and his own John McClane as examples. Jackson only grasped the wisdom of this advice later, upon securing the iconic role of Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a role which spanned a nine-picture deal.

Jackson's first appearance as Nick Fury was a post-credits cameo in 2008's Iron Man. He subsequently took center stage as the character in 2010's Iron Man 2, and has since reprised the role in an impressive ten films, three TV series, and two video games. His most recent appearances include The Marvels (2023), Secret Invasion, and a voice role in the Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur season 2 finale.

Reflecting on his extensive Marvel tenure, Jackson humorously recalled questioning the longevity required for his nine-film contract in a 2024 interview with GQ. He initially worried about the time commitment, unaware of the Marvel machine's rapid production pace. "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 stated. "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."