Samuel L. Jackson got candid with his thoughts on getting nominated for Oscars and not winning them.
The Hollywood big name shared his perspective on Oscar nominations while promoting his Netflix film The Piano Teacher. In an interview with AP Entertainment, the acclaimed actor shared his thoughts on awards recognition and how he views the Oscar race.
Jackson, who has only been nominated for an Oscar once during his storied career — a Best Supporting Actor nod for Pulp Fiction in 1995 — was awarded an honorary Academy Award in 2021.
Despite his legendary status in Hollywood, Jackson admitted that Oscar nominations don’t hold significant importance to him.
“We’ve been in the business long enough to know that when folks go, ‘It’s just an honor to be nominated.’ No, it ain’t. It’s an honor to win,” Jackson said with a laugh.
“You get nominated and folks go, ‘Yeah, I remember that.’ Or most people forget. Generally, it’s a contest you didn’t volunteer to be in. I didn’t go in there so I could flex. ‘Let me do my scene so you can remember who I was.’”
Jackson also expressed his view on the fleeting nature of awards recognition, adding, “They nominate you and people go, ‘What is that movie you’re nominated for? What’s the name of that thing?’ And after it’s over, people have a hard time remembering who even won.”
