Samuel L. Jackson’s Best Movie Moments, in Celebration of His 75th Birthday

Say happy birthday again to Samuel L. Jackson!

The legendary film figure, whose monster collection of work has grossed over $27 billion, making him the highest-grossing actor of all time, turned 75 on Thursday. To celebrate Jackson's big bday, we put together some of the best scenes of his distinguished career. Walk the path of a righteous man and watch the master at work.

Jungle Fever (1991)

If you're ever wondering if it's too late to hit it big, just remember that Jackson was 42 years old when he finally broke through in Hollywood via his scene-stealing turn as Wesley Snipes' crack-addicted brother Gator in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever. Jackson's star-making performance was informed by his own history with drugs, and he nails every aspect of the below scene, which features him, Snipes, Lee and Halle Berry in her film debut — now that is a big four!

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Want to hear an insane and upsetting fact? Jackson has only been nominated for one Oscar. Yes, I will say that again: Jackson has only been nominated for one Oscar. The sole nomination came for his most iconic performance, hitman Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction. Vincent (John Travolta) and Jules' first major scene in Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece is so memorable that it has already been quoted three times in this story. Poor Brett.

C'mon, did you really think we could pick just one moment in Pulp Fiction? There's a reason why Tarantino keeps going back to him.

A Time to Kill (1996)

Say what you want about the Golden Globes (as you should), but they've been much kinder over the years to Jackson than the Oscars. The third of his four Globe nominations came for his powerful showing in director Joel Schumacher's John Grisham adaptation, A Time to Kill. Jackson starred as Carl Lee Hailey, a Mississippi man on trial for killing the white men who raped his young daughter. When confronted on the stand by his lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) and the prosecutor (Kevin Spacey), he doesn't hold back.

Jackie Brown (1997)

Jackson's second collaboration with Tarantino might be their most underappreciated film. Jackie Brown has a loaded cast featuring the great Pam Grier and the late, great Robert Forster in lead roles, as well as Jackson, Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton and Chris Tucker. Like with Pulp Fiction, we're going to call out two Jackie Brown scenes featuring Jackson, who plays gun runner Ordell Robbie. First up, Ordell visits the recently arrested Beaumont, leading to a long tracking shot that then jumps to Tarantino's signature use of a car trunk and ends with Beaumont dead. A killer sequence indeed.

And then, late in the film, when Ordell's big plan goes awry, he and his old pal Louis (Robert De Niro) drive off and try to figure out what went wrong. The eventual answer is that Louis messed up. "What the f--- happened to you, man?" Ordell asks Louis after shooting him. "Your ass used to be beautiful." Jackson and Robert De Niro, in a car together, in a Tarantino movie? Hard to beat that.

Unbreakable (2000)

To many movie fans, Jackson is now best known for playing Nick Fury in the MCU, but his villain turn in M. Night Shyamalan's superhero thriller Unbreakable is unforgettable. The film concludes with Jackson's Elijah Price, who suffers from brittle bone disease, revealing his true motivations in a chilling monologue in which he finally assumes his supervillain title of Mr. Glass.

Coach Carter (2005)

For a certain generation, Jackson's Coach Carter is on the level of movies like Rocky, Hoosiers and Rudy. The role of an inspirational coach in a sports drama is catnip to A-list actors, and Jackson made a meal out of Ken Carter, who made headlines when he suspended his undefeated high school basketball team due to poor academic performance. Jackson delivers plenty of different types of speeches throughout Coach Carter but it's his final address that hits home hardest.

The Other Guys (2010)

While Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are dynamite together in the very underrated Adam McKay action-comedy The Other Guys, the movie peaks with the opening stretch featuring Jackson and Dwayne Johnson as a pair of superstar cops who probably overestimated themselves slightly.

And never to be forgotten...