I’m pretty sure that if I ever met Samuel L. Jackson, I would be quite starstruck. Still, I had no idea that even other movie stars feel that way. James McAvoy appeared alongside Jackson in M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass, and the actor admits he still gets a bit starstruck because, in addition to working together, the pair still talk.
McAvoy has played everything from the leader of the X-Men to a monster with superpowers. The latter role, Split, acted as a stealth sequel to M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable, and its success resulted in the movie Glass, which brought McAvoy together with Jackson and Bruce Willis. Speaking with Empire, the Beast actor drops an F-bomb in describing what it's like to be treated as an equal by one of the greats. He said…
I’m so glad I got to work with Sam and I’m so genuinely kind of taken aback and proud that somebody like Sam still fucking texts me. (Laughs) I don’t get starstruck much and I don’t get starstruck with Sam because he’s so lovely. But I do get slightly struck sometimes. Because he fucking lets me in, he accepts me, and it blows me away sometimes.
To be fair, James McAvoy and Samuel L. Jackson are both professional actors who are working in Hollywood on films that are frequently of about the same scale. The fact is that the two men should be seen as equals. However, McAvoy himself clearly has trouble seeing things that way.
And Samuel L. Jackson has seen incredible success, the kind few actors achieve. He’s been in massive franchises, including Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, resulting in him being one of the highest-grossing actors ever. McAvoy clearly sees Jackson as a step above professionally, and he considers his relationship with Jackson a significant career accomplishment. He continued…
I mean, he’s one of the highest-grossing movie stars in the world. For somebody like him to have his joy and his enthusiasm and his commitment is just really inspiring. [Knowing him] is one of the few sort of badges of honour I take seriously. I don’t think about awards much. But the fact that I’m in Sam Jackson’s phonebook is one of my biggest achievements. And I’m not joking, by the way.
Some actors in Hollywood don't have the best reputation, but Samuel L. Jackson appears to be one of those people that everybody loves. Any story from the set involving Jackson tends to be about how nice he is, how professional he is, or just how cool he is.
I can certainly appreciate the feeling. There are colleagues of mine whom I hold in very high regard, even though we may technically do the same job. Sometimes you just appreciate being in the same orbit as somebody that you respect. The X-Men actor feels that way about Samuel L. Jackson. I bet there’s somebody who feels that way about James McAvoy, too.
