Veteran Hollywood actor Samuel l Jackson, who is best known for his movies Avengers and Twisted, says that he loves his work and wants to keep creating characters and movies till he breathes his last. His latest offering Big Game, which is scheduled for an all-India release on May 22, is about a President who is trying to save himself and a 13-year-old boy who is trying to prove his mettle. Excerpts from an interview
You play the President of the United States for the first time in your movie career. Tell us something about your character in Big Game.
The President’s plane gets shot down somewhere over Finland and he escapes in a safety pod. He encounters a thirteen-year-old boy who’s out on a manhood ritual, where he has to stay in the woods overnight and kill something to prove whatever kind of man he is going to be. His father killed a bear and the boy thinks he has to kill something bigger. He is out there trying to prove himself and I’m out there trying to save myself.
What attracted you to Big GameIJ
I like adventure stories, and I like movies that have action but also some heart. I like the growth that the kid goes through and the challenge of finding two personalities that are theoretically weak but want to be stronger. One is supposed to be a leader, and the other wants to be as heroic as he sees his father to be.
Did you enjoy playing such an iconic roleIJ
When it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter if he’s a President or a carpenter. He’s in territory that’s not familiar and he’s just trying to save his own life. There are people trying to track him down so it just becomes a hunter and prey situation and his job is almost irrelevant. My character has an expectation of people coming to rescue him but at some point he figures out that is not going to happen. He’s just a guy. I didn’t take any advice from Obama… or Morgan Freeman or Jamie Foxx! I think he must be a Democrat from what I’ve read about his poll numbers…
How does the relationship between Oskari and the President developIJ
Both have to deal with people’s expectations of them. As the President, I’m already reading things about myself and I know people don’t believe in me. Oskari knows that the expectation for him is not that great because he’s supposedly not the most manly of young men and there’s disappointment out there.
What sort of impression has Onni Tomilla your 13 year old co-star made on youIJ
He’s really good! He’s very instinctive and he has a lot of energy and spirit, but he gets serious when it’s time to get serious. He’s a professional!
What were the most difficult scenes to shootIJ
The most difficult were the scenes in the plane because the water is so cold. No actor likes to be wet when trying to work and trying to think — the cold water distracts you from doing that. It was uncomfortable!
With a career spanning over 100 movies and you’re still going strong.
Painters get up and paint. Writers get up and write. I get up and create characters. I like creating. It fuels me. And it’s doing something that keeps me from being me all day. I’d rather be working. It’s still the thing that drives me.