Before his iconic, swaggering role in 1994’s Pulp Fiction, Samuel Jackson was a 44-year-old stage actor in New York. Well-known within local theater circles, Jackson took on significant roles in August Wilson’s plays, though none reached Broadway. Despite his early achievements, Jackson battled addiction to substances like alcohol and crack cocaine.
Samuel Jackson’s story begins on December 21, 1948, in Washington, D.C. Though born there, he was raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, under the strict care of his aunt and grandmother. His father left when he was young, but Jackson regularly saw his mother during her trips between D.C. and Chattanooga. From a young age, Jackson developed an interest in theater and racial discrimination in America.
“[It was] great and loving. We were never hungry, I was never ragged. I had to be home at a certain time. People ask me ‘Why do you work so much?’ People in my house got up to go to work every day. My grandmother was a domestic… my grandfather was a doorman/elevator operator/furnace maintainer. My aunt was a schoolteacher and I was reading by the time I was three.”
Jackson’s early encounters with segregation and film influenced his decision to attend Morehouse College, a historically Black institution in Atlanta. There, Jackson and his peers witnessed the growing tension between younger civil rights activists and the cautious, gradualist faculty. This motivated him to join the Black Power movement.
In 1968, Jackson became involved with the Black Panthers and even served as a pallbearer at Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral. A year later, during his junior year at Morehouse, Jackson protested the lack of African American representation on the board of trustees by locking several members in a building for two days, an action that led to his expulsion.
Afterward, Jackson worked as a social worker in Los Angeles for two years before deciding to return to Morehouse, where he earned a degree in drama in 1972. He then moved to New York to immerse himself in the vibrant theater scene. However, during this time, Jackson also became more entangled in the darker side of theater life, abusing drugs and alcohol.
“It was the life. I was in the theatre, the revolution. I fancied myself as Oliver Reed. Part of it is hereditary: my father died of alcoholism. I took it a step further, I drank and I used drugs. I liked the feeling of not being cognisant of what was going on around me.”
Despite his increasing reliance on alcohol and drugs, Jackson never fully lost control. He continued performing in plays, steadily gaining recognition, with his name circulating among directors and television producers.
“I didn’t rob people, I was working the whole time. I rehearsed and performed on drugs. I went on stage and watched people’s eyes roll across stage and I’d go ‘oh I have a line, OK got to focus on the play now.’”
However, his substance use began to strain his relationship with his wife and child, eventually reaching a point where Jackson realized he could no longer manage his addictions.
“I was not affectionate, I was not associative and I was kind of crazy – in a way that I regret and I’ve apologized to both.”
In 1991, after a particularly chaotic night, Jackson found himself drunk in his kitchen, attempting to cook cocaine on the stove. His wife and daughter, LaTanya and Zoe, walked in on him during the act. It was the first and last time his family saw him doing more than just drinking or smoking weed. Jackson passed out, and the next morning, he checked into rehab.
While many in recovery speak positively of their time in rehab, Jackson was primarily fed up with the constant physical toll of drugs and alcohol. Rather than crediting the 12 Steps or his rehab peers for his sobriety, Jackson attributes his recovery to his strong work ethic. Before leaving rehab, he was offered a role in an upcoming Spike Lee film, portraying a crack addict.
“All the people in rehab were trying to talk me out of it. ‘You’re going to be messing around with crack pipes. All your triggers will be there. Blah, blah, blah.’ I was like, You know what? If for no other reason than I never want to see you motherf—ers again, I will never pick up another drug, cause I hated their asses.”
Two weeks after completing rehab, Jackson began filming one of his breakthrough roles as a crack addict in Spike Lee’s 1991 film Jungle Fever. He attributes his sobriety as the key to fully embodying the character and delivering a standout performance.
“So I was doing things the right way, it was just that one thing that was in the way – my addiction. And once that was out of the way, it was – boom! The door blew wide open.”
His next major role, as a morally complex hitman in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, catapulted him to national fame. Since then, Jackson has proven that his work ethic is unmatched. Every year since 1994, he has appeared in roughly four films on average, including blockbuster roles in Star Wars, The Avengers, Goodfellas, Jurassic Park, and many more.
While not always the leading actor, Jackson has earned more through his film appearances than most in the industry. Based on total gross for all his films, Jackson holds the Guinness World Record for highest-grossing film actor of all time, with a staggering $5.75 billion. His residuals alone bring in around $300,000 annually.
Although Jackson has remained relapse-free, he admits that the temptation to use still exists. In a 2016 interview with Men’s Health, he discussed how he stays humble about his sobriety.
“I didn’t drink yesterday and I’m not planning on it today. People treated for cancer might go into remission but there’s a chance it will come back. I feel the same about alcoholism. I still have drug dreams. It’s hard because I understand the weed is really good now.”
Now 75 years old, Jackson is secure in his place as a Hollywood legend. In 2019, he was set to star alongside Bruce Willis and James McAvoy in M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass, reprising his role as the enigmatic villain, Mr. Glass.
In Conclusion
At Sunrise Recovery in Clarksville Indiana, we are committed to equipping patients with the necessary tools to overcome addiction. Our facilities provide comprehensive care, including residential treatment, intensive outpatient programs, and medical detox treatment for those facing substance use disorders. If you or a loved one is battling addiction, reach out to our admissions team today.
