Photo: Gary Gershoff © WireImage.com

Born in Washington, DC; educated at Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA (drama). Lanky, intense veteran of TV commercials, Broadway and off-Broadway theater turned omnipresent character actor and occasional lead of 1990s film. Jackson spent over a decade working with the acclaimed Negro Ensemble Company. He also worked with the NY Shakespeare Festival and originated roles in two of August Wilson's plays at the Yale Repertory Theater: Boy Willie in The Piano Lesson and Wolf in Two Trains Running. He segued to bit parts in films and TV guest shots, often playing creeps and criminals who die violently on-screen. His strikingly feline eyes convey menace with scary effectiveness but his expressive face adjusts impressively to a wide range of material. Jackson has acted in several films by writer-director Spike Lee, beginning with a bit as a local yokel in SCHOOL DAZE (1988). He oversaw the neighborhood happenings as the street-level deejay Mister Señor Love Daddy in DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) and beat the hell out of Denzel Washington in MO' BETTER BLUES (1990). Jackson enjoyed a major career boost in Lee's JUNGLE FEVER (1991) with a brilliant, harrowing portrait of an alternately charming and dangerous crack addict. His work won a special jury prize for best supporting actor at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. That triumph led to a torrent of small roles in a rapid succession of titles -- STRICTLY BUSINESS (1991), Ernest Dickerson's JUICE, WHITE SANDS, JOHNNY SUEDE, PATRIOT GAMES, JUMPIN AT THE BONEYARD, and FATHERS AND SONS (all 1992) -- before Jackson graduated to leads in two 1993 comedies, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S LOADED WEAPON I and AMOS & ANDREW. Jackson finished out the year in supporting roles in three wildly different projects: the Hughes Brothers' MENACE II SOCIETY; Steven Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK; and Tony Scott's TRUE ROMANCE. The latter film was scripted by rising star Quentin Tarantino who -- in tribute to 70s Blaxploitation flicks -- put Jackson in a Jheri-curled Afro wig to play a philosophical hit man in the acclaimed PULP FICTION (1994). Outstanding even amid a stellar ensemble that included Bruce Willis, John Travolta, and Uma Thurman, he got to utter several killer monologues while going about his grisly work. For his efforts Jackson received an Oscar® nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The workaholic actor appeared in at least three other films in 1994 including THE NEW AGE and FRESH. Jackson has also appeared in such high-minded made-for-cable movies as ASSAULT AT WEST POINT (Showtime, 1994) and AGAINST THE WALL / ATTICA! ATTICA! (HBO, 1994). Having established himself as a Hollywood actor much in demand, Jackson's subsequent notable screen credits include HAIL CAESAR (1994), LOSING ISAIAH, KISS OF DEATH and DIE HARD: WITH A VENGEANCE (all 1995), SYDNEY, THE GREAT WHITE HYPE, TREES LOUNGE, THE SEARCH FOR ONE-EYE JIMMY, A TIME TO KILL and THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT (all 1996), ONE EIGHT SEVEN, EVE'S BAYOU and JACKIE BROWN (all 1997), SPHERE, THE NEGOTIATOR and THE RED VIOLIN (all 1998), STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE and DEEP BLUE SEA (both 1999), ANY GIVEN WEDNESDAY, RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, SHAFT and UNBREAKABLE (all 2000), THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE and THE 51ST STATE (both 2001), CHANGING LANES, STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES, THE HOUSE ON TURK STREET and xXx (all 2002), BASIC and S.W.A.T. (both 2003), KILL BILL: VOL. 2, COUNTRY OF MY SKULL and TWISTED (all 2004), COACH CARTER, xXx: STATE OF THE UNION, STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH and THE MAN (all 2005), FREEDOMLAND, SNAKES ON A PLANE, BLACK SNAKE MOAN and HOME OF THE BRAVE (all 2006), RESURRECTING THE CHAMP, 1408 and THE CLEANER (all 2007), JUMPER, IRON MAN, LAKEVIEW TERRACE and SOUL MEN (all scheduled for release in 2008), and QUANTUM QUEST: A CASSINI SPACE ODYSSEY and THE SPIRIT (both in post-production for 2009 release).  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role 1994: PULP FICTION 1 nomination