Samuel L. Jackson Doesn’t Get Why People Think It’s ‘an Honor’ Just to Be Nominated for an Oscar

Hold on to your butts, Samuel L. Jackson is coming after awards season cordiality.

The veteran actor of stage and screen, most recently seen in the Netflix adaptation of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson,” was blunt in his assessment of the weight awards hold in the span of a career, specifically the Oscar, joking in a recent interview with the Associated Press that people tend to take it all too seriously

“Folks will go, ‘Well it’s just an honor to be nominated.’ No it ain’t,” Jackson said. “It’s an honor to win.”

Jackson himself has only received an Honorary Oscar, presented to him by longtime friend Denzel Washington in 2021, though he was nominated in the category of Best Supporting Actor for “Pulp Fiction.” The actor, producer, and philanthropist is garnering buzz again this year for his performance in “The Piano Lesson,” directed by Washington’s son Malcolm and co-starring John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Corey Hawkins, Ray Fisher, and Michael Potts.

Of getting nominated for an Oscar, Jackson said, “You get nominated, folks will go, ‘Yeah yeah, I remember that’ or most people forget.”

Deadwyler also recently shared her feelings on being in awards conversations for her performance, having been snubbed in 2022 for her powerful turn in “Till.” Speaking in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, she expressed her disinterest in spending too much time thinking about Oscar buzz.

“That should not overwhelm one’s ego or psyche,” Deadwyler said. “I feel good and more settled in that understanding. The incessant questioning about awards, awards, awards can be too much.”

Similarly, Jackson’s big issue with the nature of awards is that despite them carrying a competitive bent, as an actor, it’s not something top of mind when you’re actually performing each scene.

“Generally it’s a contest you didn’t volunteer to be in,” said Jackson to AP. “I didn’t go in there so I could flex, ‘Well wait a minute, let me do my scene here. Hold up, let me do this, make sure you remember who I was.’ No they nominate you and go, ‘What is that movie they nominated him for? What’s the name of that thing?’ And then after it’s over, people have a hard time remembering who even won.”

Watch a clip from the interview below.