Samuel L. Jackson reveals $12 billion piece of advice he got from Bruce Willis

SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 20: Bruce Willis (L) and Samuel L. Jackson attend Universal Pictures' "Glass" and "Halloween" panels during Comic-Con International 2018 at San Diego Convention Center on July 20, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

It’s hard to put a monetary value on life-changing advice. But in Samuel L. Jackson’s case, the figure clocks in right around $12.8 billion.

That’s how much the dozen Marvel films in which his character Nick Fury appears have grossed at the box office since he first donned the iconic eyepatch in 2008′s “Iron Man.”

Bruce Willis told Samuel L. Jackson to get cast as someone 'everybody loves' for a stable career. He later got the role of Nick Fury.

It’s a role that has kept him employed, in the zeitgeist and, most importantly, paid for more than 15 years. And if it weren’t for a conversation that the actor once had with Bruce Willis, it might never have happened.

Speaking with Vanity Fair for a story celebrating Willis’ 70th birthday, Jackson said that Willis gave him a life-changing tip when the pair were shooting “Die Hard With a Vengeance” together in 1994.

“He told me, ‘Hopefully you’ll be able to find a character that, when you make bad movies and they don’t make any money, you can always go back to this character everybody loves,’” Jackson said.

Willis said that he had the John McClane character from the “Die Hard” films, while Arnold Schwarzenegger had “Terminator” and Sylvester Stallone had “Rocky” and “Rambo” films to fall back on.

It would be another 14 years before Jackson would find the role that Willis was talking about.

“It didn’t occur to me until I got that Nick Fury role—and I had a nine-picture deal to be Nick Fury—that, Oh, I’m doing what Bruce said. I’ve got this character now,” Jackson said.

Samuel L. Jackson Shares $12 Billion Piece of Advice from Bruce Willis

On top of being lucrative, Jackson has embraced being a staple of big popcorn movies. The 76-year-old has long since given up choosing roles for the chance at winning an award, telling the Los Angeles Times in 2022 that he “got over it” years ago.

“I was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor,” he said. “My yardstick of success is my happiness”

“Am I satisfied with what I’m doing? I’m not doing statue-chasing movies,” he continued. ”‘If you do this movie, you’ll win an Oscar.’ No, thanks. I’d rather be Nick Fury. Or having fun being Mace Windu with a lightsaber in my hand.”