With over 40 years of acting credits, Samuel L. Jackson has become one of the most beloved and cherished actors of today. After his cinematic debut in the independent movie Together for Days, the actor has yet to stop the spotlight train.
As he promotes his new film, The Last Day of Ptolemy Grey, the veteran thespian says he’s fully aware that getting older comes with consequence. He said, “I’m getting older every day. I’m kind of old. I know a lot about getting old! I have been around for a while.”
In his latest project, Jackson takes on the role of a 91-year-old man who is living with dementia in a hoarded house south of Atlanta, according to Variety. The movie’s adaptation is based on Walter Mosely’s novel of the same title. “It’s not just a dirge about Alzheimer’s dementia,” he said. “It’s about a lot of other different things.”
Grey, Jackson’s character, decides to take a drug that temporarily provides restoration to his memory and assists him in finding out who killed his great-nephew.\
The Oscar-nominee shared what drew him to the project, produced by his wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson, was his family history of relatives who lived with Alzheimer’s disease. Jackson’s late mother, aunt, uncle and grandfather all battled the memory destructive ailment.
“As they passed on, I just became more determined to tell this story and get it out there. And make sure people understand that the people they loved are still there, inside that person, so you can’t throw them away. You have to care for them and love them as if they’re still contributing to your life,” the 73-year-old actor explained.
He later said that he carries his own concerns as to how the medical history affects his own well being. “Of course. I have times when I can’t remember a name that I know I know. Or walk in a room to get something and go, ‘Why am I in here?’ But I also still remember pages of dialogue a day. So, do I think about it? Yes. Am I worried? I’m 73 … 74? 73 …See, like that! But it had happened to my mom and my grandfather by now. So I think I’m OK. For the moment.”
Jackson disclosed a memory he has of his mother recalling the last time she remembered who he was. “She was watching TV, and a film of mine was coming out. I popped up on the screen, and she looked at me and said, ‘Oh, Sam.’ That was it,” he said.