Samuel L. Jackson: 6 Stories From the Motherf-cking Best

Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Samuel L. Jackson returned to the Stern Show Tuesday morning on the heels of his latest starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” and shed some light on a variety of topics including meeting his father for the first time as an adult, his method for getting into character, why he won’t show his penis on screen, and what it was like to be a stand-in for Bill Cosby.

Growing Up With a Stutter

While Jackson had a bit of a tumultuous upbringing between his stuttering and an unsteady relationship with his parents, you wouldn’t be able to tell by his account. The acclaimed actor told Howard that despite not talking in school for nearly a year one time because of kids making fun of him, it wasn’t a teacher or speech therapist that helped him solve the issue. Jackson took matters into his own hands studying in the library about breathing techniques and ultimately utilizing the word “motherfucker” as an anchor. “It flips a switch that stops the dddd and the bbbb,” he explained.

Jackson also recounted the offbeat story of meeting his father — who left very early on — for the first time as an adult in Tennessee almost accidentally. After seeking out his grandmother, who would send him a card every year, Jackson ran into his father who also wanted to introduce him to his sister (of whom he had never heard of). As they arrived at a different house, the man introduced him to three women of different ages – none of which were his sister. Instead, the teenage girl went upstairs to get a baby who was Jackson’s sister. Listen to the hilarious exchange below:

Standing in for Bill Cosby

Early in his career as an actor, Jackson served as a stand-in for Bill Cosby on “The Cosby Show” and naturally Howard had a bunch of questions about what happened behind the scenes. Jackson insisted that he stayed away from Bill and didn’t even think “Mr. Cosby” knew who he was. It was only years later that the now-troubled comedian called over to Samuel at a sporting event and joked about needing a stand-in.

The Highest Grossing Actor of All Time

Putting aside critical acclaim, Samuel L. Jackson reigns as the highest-grossing actor of all time. Howard wondered how he got involved in so many amazingly successful films and moreover, how he transforms into each character. Not surprisingly, Jackson has a very specific method. Listen below:

“Django Unchained” Deleted Scenes

While there were no regrets in the films he has done, Jackson was a little miffed at one scene that was cut from “Django Unchained” that saw him torturing Django and burning his nipples off. As despicable as his character, Stephen, was in the film, Jackson insisted that the version we see today is the nice version and there was a lot more to him.

Samuel L. Jackson … Jr.

It may seem like he’s done it all, there is one thing Jackson won’t do: Full-frontal nudity. “My aura is so big in film and I don’t know if my dick is big enough to fulfill my aura,” he quipped.

But unlike many other actors and actresses who have come on the show, Jackson admitted that sometimes it is possible to get aroused during intimate scenes on set. “You apologize for both reasons – I’m sorry if I get excited and I’m sorry if I don’t,” he joked to Howard.

“The Hateful Eight”

If you haven’t seen “The Hateful Eight” yet, Jackson offered a synopsis of sorts to entice you. Check it out in theaters now!

“It’s essentially a film about a bounty hunter, Kurt Russell, who has a prisoner worth $10,000 … and he keeps running into people that he doesn’t know and has to take refuge from a storm in a place that has six people in it that he doesn’t really, really know or trust. And he feels like one or more of those people are there to rescue that person that he’s trying to get $10,000 for.”