Key highlights:

• Samuel L. Jackson reflects on advice received from Bruce Willis regarding career stability.
• Willis emphasized the importance of recurring beloved characters in franchise films.
• Jackson credits his Nick Fury role in the Marvel franchise as fulfilling Willis's advice.
• Jackson's choice of roles focuses on enjoyment rather than awards.

In a recent interview, Samuel L. Jackson shared valuable insights on the advice he received from veteran actor Bruce Willis, which has significantly influenced his enduring presence in Hollywood. The discussion, featured in Vanity Fair to commemorate Willis's 70th birthday, revealed that Willis once suggested, "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," as recalled by Jackson during their collaboration on the film Die Hard With a Vengeance in 1995.

Willis used his own role as John McClane in the Die Hard franchise as a model, pointing out other iconic characters like Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator and Sylvester Stallone's roles in Rocky and Rambo. Jackson initially took the advice lightly, but it resonated with him when he secured his major role as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). "It didn’t occur to me until I got that Nick Fury role—and I had a nine-picture deal to be Nick Fury—that, 'Oh, I’m doing what Bruce said. I’ve got this character now,'" Jackson noted.

Over the years, Jackson has portrayed Nick Fury in numerous MCU films, cementing his status within this billion-dollar franchise. He has also branched out into other major franchises, including the Star Wars prequels. Jackson has openly expressed that his metric for success is not awards or accolades but rather the enjoyment of acting. "My yardstick of success is my happiness: Am I satisfied with what I’m doing? I’m not doing statue-chasing movies," he emphasized, demonstrating his commitment to taking roles that resonate with him personally.

This advice from Willis exemplifies a broader theme in Hollywood, where actors like Jackson often prefer blockbuster films to more traditional roles that might lead to critical acclaim. As Jackson has stated, he aims to work on projects that remind him of the joy cinema brought him as a child. For further details on this insightful discussion, you can refer to the interviews on Business Insider, HuffPost, and Salon.