Samuel L. Jackson Shares His Top Five Favorite Movies He’s Starred In on ‘Colbert’

Samuel L. Jackson has an extensive list of film credits to his name, and despite everything he’s done he’s still got five clear favorites in mind.

In an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jackson gave a few updates on what he’s been up to throughout the pandemic. He said he mostly stayed inside for a year, but he’s since returned to filming with The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, a new Apple original series based on the Walter Mosley novel of the same name. He also admitted that if he ever catches one of his movies on television, he’ll probably sit down and finish watching it.

Asked if he ever watches any of his own movies, he replied, “Uh… yeah!” When Colbert commented that some actors say they can’t watch themselves in a film, Jackson added, “Well some actors lie to you about that, they watch their movies. You know, c’mon. It’s a watch me business!” He remarked that when he was in plays, he was frustrated that he couldn’t watch the same plays that he’s featured in.

“If I’m channel surfing, and I haven’t found anything that I wanna watch or I’m not specifically looking for something... I pass something I’m in I’ll watch it,” he said, which prompted Colbert to ask the iconic 72-year-old actor what his favorite Samuel L. Jackson films are.

“Long Kiss Good Night, A Time to Kill, Jackie Brown, Red Violin, and One Eight Seven,” he replied, before listing his favorite movies regardless of whether he’s in them. “The Raid, The Godfather, Hard Boiled, Hoodlums, and The Berlin File,” he said.

In the second portion of his interview, Jackson detailed the start of his acting career. He also mentioned how his community of friends were always hoping to see Giancarlo Esposito break out with a big role, which he eventually did with Gus Fring in Breaking Bad.

Watch both portions of the interview above.