Expect anything from the British. I’ve liked Britain since I first visited back in 1980 to film Ragtime. You have to expect anything to happen when you’re with people who put sugar on their popcorn. The first time I went to the movies in Britain and bought popcorn, sat in my seat and ate some, I was like, ‘Woah! What the heck?’
But don’t expect to understand them. When I first heard Jonathan Ross speak, I thought he was kidding with that crazy Elmer Fudd voice. First time I went on Jonathan’s show, he sent me three boxes of British HobNob cookies. They’re good, but some of the cookies from Tennessee kill ’em.
I like Liverpool. I stayed there for three months when I was filming The 51st State. I had a good time. I understood what they were all saying, I had a cool house and I got to play some of the best links golf courses in the world at the Royal Liverpool and the Royal Birkdale clubs.
When I have time off, wherever I am, I work on my golf game. Next year the British Open is going to be at the Royal Birkdale, and I’m planning to make time in my schedule to be there. Travelling keeps me sane. I get to travel a lot, and that keeps me out of that Los Angeles bubble.
Now that the Beckhams have moved to my neighbourhood, there are often 70 paparazzi cars parked at the bottom of the hill near my house every day that weren’t there before, just waiting for a black SUV to come out so they can chase it.
I hope New Orleans’ Mardi Gras is big this month. I’ve been down in Louisiana a lot lately, and the Big Easy needs a boost. New Orleans is a unique city because a lot of what defines being an Afro-American – things like jazz and the blues and certain foods – originated there. It’s always had a very high Afro-American population and, in a sense, it’s always been our city. It’s important to preserve that heritage.
Samuel L Jackson is an ambassador for Listen (listencharity.org), a global children’s charity on a project with Oxfam America to rebuild family life in hurricane-struck Louisiana. Jackson’s latest film Jumper is out now. Interview by Sally Howard.
