“Do not come back to Atlanta”: FBI Saved Samuel L. Jackson from Assassination, Helped Launch $250M Movie Career
Samuel L. Jackson has become a household name over the years. His reputation precedes him having undoubtedly carved his name in people’s hearts. The Coach Carter star has proved his skill across the ages, one of the latest and most popular of which is his rendition of MCU’s Nick Fury. Jackson was the perfect man for playing Nick Fury and has a special fanbase for that role. A reason behind that might be the fact that both Jackson and Fury share one achievement – both have cheated death when the time came. And it was the FBI that came to the former’s aid.
Samuel L. Jackson was vocal about civil rights
Samuel L. Jackson had been a vocal supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. The 74-year-old, a student at Morehouse College, Georgia, never shied away from making his voice heard. Speaking to Parade in 2005, he shared how he had always been passionate about the Civil Rights Movement. The demise of Martin Luther King Jr. ignited a fire in his heart.
The Captain Marvel star told Parade,
“I was angry about the assassination, but I wasn’t shocked by it. I knew that change was going to take something different—not sit-ins, not peaceful coexistence.”
This was a man who knew that someone needed to take responsibility.
How the FBI came to Samuel L. Jackson’s aid
There was a fire in the Django Unchained actor’s heart. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death further stoked it. It was in retribution to this and the university’s administration’s ignorance that he decided to take Martin Luther King Sr. and some trustees of the Morehouse College hostage. He was expelled without a doubt. But that was not going to be the only possible drawback of his act.
One day, the FBI rolled up to Jackson’s house, informing his mother that her son’s stay in Atlanta might not be as safe as it should be. Remembering the day his mother sent him away, he said,
“But then one day, my mom showed up and put me on a plane to L.A. She said, ‘Do not come back to Atlanta.’ The FBI had been to the house and told her that if I didn’t get out of Atlanta, there was a good possibility I’d be dead within a year. She freaked out.”
That was how his acting career started.
Also Read: Samuel L. Jackson Did This $62M Cult-Classic Because He Found the Name Funny: “He said ‘For real?!’”
The Rest is History
The Kingsman star came to Los Angeles, the city of Hollywood. But it was not his fate to join Hollywood yet. He was there for 2 years, performing social services. It was soon after that, that he reapplied to Morehouse College, where he got admitted as a Drama major.
The Pulp Fiction star never turned back from that moment. So began a career that would see him scale great heights, becoming a household name over the course of the years. And it all started with a visit by the FBI.
Source: The Things
