You can’t tell Samuel L. Jackson what to do. Not even if you’re, say, a director on one of his movies, a figure technically tasked with telling the actor what to do. Jackson does what he pleases, revealing in a refreshing New York Times interview that when he’s on a movie set, he’s basically in charge.
“I can be a hard taskmaster for some directors,” the actor said. Yes, filmmakers fear him. The 68-year-old star takes full advantage of the fact that he’s one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, saying that he has the “option to go golfing twice a week written into all of his film contracts,” the NYT writes. Jackson also revealed that he simply refuses to do extra takes: “I’m at that point where I can say: ‘Uh, you know, that’s not going to be in the movie, right? We already got it, we got it when we did this, that, and that. I’m not going to do that.’”
If you can say “I’m not going to do that” to a high-powered peer or boss and still thrive, that’s when you know you’ve made it. Let’s call it the Jackson Test. Try it out on your boss today! (Unless you’re, say, a woman, in which case you will probably be labeled “difficult”—until Jill Soloway topples the patriarchy, anyway.)
Jackson’s NYT interview arrives shortly after Aziz Ansari’s cover story in GQ Style, in which that actor revealed he too takes a carefree approach to work now that he’s reached a certain level of success. The star is riding high on waves of critical acclaim for Master of None’s second season, and has spent the last year living all over Italy, Paris, and Tokyo, picking up languages and skills and enjoying his riches.
“I was talking to a friend of mine the other day,” Ansari said. “We both have more money than we ever imagined . . . I don’t need to make more stuff. I’ve made a lot of stuff! I’m financially O.K. I’m not gonna make stuff just for the sake of making stuff. I want to make stuff ‘cause I’m inspired.”
Hence trotting the globe and living the good life, rather than, say, sketching out Master of None’s third season (which is still up in the air). Ansari, who is also so carefree that he deleted the Internet off his phone (no e-mail, no social media, nothing), was pointedly candid about his life choices, admitting that this approach is unusual in his and Jackson’s industry.
“I hope more people get very successful and then quit,” he said. “Shouldn’t that be the game? That you make a bunch of money and just move to Italy and live a quiet life? No one does it! You do a bunch of shit and you just want to do more shit. Tom Cruise! Look at that guy! He will not stop. He’s still making these fucking movies.”
Tom Cruise will not chill out, though—and that’s what separates him from the Jacksons and the Ansaris. Interview by interview, those two are sketching out an idealistic lifestyle guide for What to Do When You’re Suddenly Rich and Powerful, while avoiding the celebrity trope of earnest workaholism. Not that there’s anything wrong with that either. But if you’re ever tired of hearing about that lifestyle, it should be very clear who your two new role models should be.
