Samuel L. Jackson has spent decades making movies more memorable, but some of his best work comes when he shares the screen with an equally memorable partner. From Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction to Zeus Carver and John McClane in Die Hard with a Vengeance, Jackson has built some of his most entertaining performances around great screen partnerships. Here are 10 of the best Samuel L. Jackson movie team-ups, from action and comedy to superheroes and sci-fi.
How we chose these Samuel L. Jackson team-ups: We considered the chemistry between Jackson and his co-stars, how important the partnership is to the movie, the memorability of the characters, and how well the pairing has held up over time. The list includes traditional buddy teams as well as memorable hero-and-villain partnerships.
#10 – National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1: Wes Luger and Jack Colt
A spoof of movies like Lethal Weapon, National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1 casts Samuel L. Jackson as Wes Luger, the straight-laced cop partnered with Emilio Estevez’s wild card Jack Colt. Jackson takes the Danny Glover role in the parody, playing the straight man while Estevez gets most of the broader comedic moments. But that contrast is exactly what makes the pairing work, and Jackson is hilarious in a role that lets him play the familiar buddy cop setup completely straight while everything around him gets increasingly ridiculous. It’s a very different kind of Samuel L. Jackson team-up, but his chemistry with Estevez makes Loaded Weapon 1 a worthy choice for this list.
#9 – The Long Kiss Goodnight: Samantha Caine and Mitch Hennessey
A personal favorite of mine, The Long Kiss Goodnight is an action-packed classic that puts Geena Davis in a role very different from what she had become known for. Davis plays Samantha Caine, a suburban mother who begins to uncover a dangerous past, while Samuel L. Jackson plays Mitch Hennessey, the fast-talking private investigator who becomes her unlikely partner. The two have instant chemistry, and Jackson’s wisecracking performance gives the movie much of its personality as Davis gets to unleash a surprisingly badass action hero side. Their partnership leads to some great action scenes and memorable one-liners, and Jackson and Davis make such an entertaining team that it’s easy to wish they had gotten another movie together.
#8 – Kingsman: The Secret Service: Richmond Valentine and Gazelle
Kingsman: The Secret Service gave Samuel L. Jackson a villain unlike anything else in his career up to that point. Jackson plays Richmond Valentine, a billionaire philanthropist with a weak stomach who wants to save the world in a decidedly deadly way, while Sofia Boutella’s Gazelle is his lethal henchwoman with no such problem when it comes to blood and violence. Their contrasting personalities make them an entertaining pair, with Valentine’s nervous energy balanced by Gazelle’s terrifying efficiency. The two feel like a classic Bond movie villain and henchwoman pairing given a modern, ultraviolent twist, and Jackson clearly has a great time playing a villain who is every bit as eccentric as he is dangerous.
#7 – Django Unchained: Stephen and Calvin Candie
Not your traditional team-up, but once you see the fire in Samuel L. Jackson’s eyes as Stephen, you know he is not just a complacent slave. He is a highly intelligent and dangerous figure who understands exactly how Calvin Candie’s plantation operates and becomes a crucial ally to Leonardo DiCaprio’s sadistic plantation owner. Jackson and DiCaprio make an unexpectedly menacing pair, with Stephen’s quiet calculation complementing Candie’s theatrical cruelty. There are a lot of bad guys in Django Unchained, but the pairing of these two could be the most menacing in any Quentin Tarantino movie to date. It’s a deeply twisted partnership, but that is exactly what makes Jackson’s performance and this particular team-up so memorable.
#6 – The Other Guys: Highsmith and Danson
Samuel L. Jackson has been Shaft and he has been a member of S.W.A.T., but it is his partnership with Dwayne Johnson as the supercop duo Highsmith and Danson that almost steals The Other Guys from Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. As the movie’s absurdly over-the-top police heroes, Highsmith and Danson hit every movie buddy cop cliché imaginable, from their larger-than-life confidence to their complete disregard for the rules. Jackson and Johnson have terrific chemistry, and the fact that their characters are treated like legendary action heroes makes their brief time on screen even funnier. Their partnership is so entertaining that it makes me want to see Highsmith and Danson get their own spin-off prequel.
#5 – The Incredibles: Frozone and Mr. Incredible
Even in animated form, Samuel L. Jackson is awesome. As Frozone, Jackson teams with Craig T. Nelson’s Mr. Incredible, also known as Bob Parr, to take on Syndrome and his army of super-powered threats. Frozone, whose real name is Lucius Best, and Mr. Incredible aren’t just superheroes who happen to fight side by side; they have a history together, and Jackson’s dry, laid-back delivery is the perfect counterpoint to Nelson’s larger-than-life hero. The quieter moments between these longtime friends are what really sell the partnership, while their banter makes their friendship feel lived-in even when they’re in the middle of saving the day. You definitely would want Frozone in your corner.
#4 – Star Wars: Mace Windu and the Jedi Order
George Lucas instantly knew Samuel L. Jackson would make the Star Wars prequels better, and Jackson famously got his own uniquely colored purple lightsaber as part of the deal. Mace Windu doesn’t have a ton of screen time, but that doesn’t stop Jackson from stealing every moment he appears in. As one of the most powerful members of the Jedi Council, Windu gets to stand alongside some of the most iconic characters in the Star Wars universe, from Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi to Anakin Skywalker. From the climactic battle in Attack of the Clones to his transformative fight with Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith, Jackson’s Mace Windu is one of the coolest Jedi ever.
#3 – Die Hard with a Vengeance: John McClane and Zeus Carver
Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis have teamed up as foes in Unbreakable, but they work even better as partners in Die Hard with a Vengeance. Jackson plays Zeus Carver, a Harlem shopkeeper who gets unwillingly dragged into John McClane’s latest crisis and becomes the reluctant partner McClane never wanted. Their opposing personalities make the pairing work: McClane is reckless and abrasive, while Zeus is quick-witted, skeptical, and more than willing to give him a hard time. Jackson and Willis have fantastic chemistry, and their back-and-forth gives Die Hard with a Vengeance much of its personality. It is a travesty these two characters never re-teamed for another Die Hard.
#2 – The Avengers: Nick Fury and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
Would we even have the Marvel Cinematic Universe without Samuel L. Jackson? Nick Fury is the narrative glue that pulls the heroes together in The Avengers, bringing Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye together when the world needs them most. And Jackson has played Fury long enough that the character has become one of the defining figures in the entire MCU, even getting the chance to carry his own story in Secret Invasion, which should have been better. Jackson is such an ultimate badass as Fury that you can forget the character doesn’t have any superpowers. He doesn’t need them. Jackson has enough screen presence to lead a movie on his own, but he is arguably put to better use making every other superhero around him that much better.
#1 – Pulp Fiction: Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega
One of the best films of all time also features one of the greatest movie partnerships in Samuel L. Jackson’s career. Jackson and John Travolta have classic repartee as Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega, two hitmen who come off as the best of friends even as they go about their business as some of the most cold-blooded killers in Quentin Tarantino’s universe. While practically every line of dialogue in Pulp Fiction is quotable, it usually comes down to Jackson and one of his conversations with Travolta. Whether they’re debating the meaning of a foot massage or discussing burgers before carrying out a hit, the chemistry between Jackson and Travolta makes every scene they share unforgettable. This is the Samuel L. Jackson team-up that remains impossible to beat.
Samuel L. Jackson has had so many memorable pairings that narrowing his career down to ten was always going to leave somebody out. Whether he’s trading dialogue with John Travolta, trying to keep Bruce Willis alive, or stealing an animated superhero movie as Frozone, Jackson has a knack for making his co-stars more entertaining simply by being in the scene with them. And that’s arguably the real secret to a great Samuel L. Jackson team-up: you don’t just remember Jackson, you remember who he was with.
