Actor Samuel L. Jackson says Maui's the best perk

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

Self-described golfaholic Samuel Jackson putts on the third green at Kapalua Plantation golf course on Maui. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

The reason: It would allow him to spend six months in Hawai'i, a place he'd never been but wanted to visit.

"I was that close to getting it,'' Jackson said. "They snatched me off a golf course in Seattle to go to the audition. Flew me to L.A., auditioned, flew back to Seattle to play golf. I was in a golf tournament.'' He didn't get the part.

So when ESPN offered Jackson the choice of a special perk for hosting the 2002 ESPY Awards show, which airs live at 3 p.m. Wednesday, the King of Cool naturally chose golfing in Hawai'i.

In May, ESPN flew Jackson, his wife, LaTanya Richardson, and a small party of friends to Maui for a five-day golfing vacation, during which Jackson spent nearly all his waking hours plying the emerald links of Wailea and Kapalua.

It was heaven for the self-professed golfaholic, who plays host to his own celebrity golf tournament, practices on his own putting green at home and plays just about every day.

Then the prolific Jackson — one of the busiest actors in the business — headed back to Hollywood. In addition to the ESPY awards, "Changing Lanes'' and "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones,'' Jackson is scheduled to appear in two more movies later this summer: the action adventures "XXX'' and "Formula 51.'' "No Good Deed'' and "Basic'' are also on the way.

Whether it's wielding a light saber, brandishing a semi-automatic pistol or swinging a golf club, there's no denying the versatile actor does whatever he does with flair and style. He's fashioned an image that makes him among the coolest people on the planet.

Is he that cool in real life?

Jackson, who paused to talk between golf games, said he didn't necessarily think so. "I read a lot, and I try to do interesting films with interesting characters. They have a combination of confidence and humility that is cool for some people.''

"I'm comfortable, really, with who I am,'' he added. Plus, he said, it helps that he's been sober for 11 years.

It's no coincidence that Jackson's career has taken off during that time. Hollywood first became aware of him in 1991, when he portrayed a crack addict in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever.'' He received a special prize for acting at the Cannes Film Festival and won the New York Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor.

His 1994 role as a hit man in "Pulp Fiction'' further catapulted his career, earning him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.

While Jackson never worked here, there was a reference to Hawai'i in at least one of his movies. Remember the Big Kahuna Burger from "that Hawaiian joint'' in "Pulp Fiction''? When Jules described it as "a tasty burger,'' it really was a tasty burger, Jackson said. Director Quentin Tarantino used real pineapple, lots of cheese and big hamburger patties. "I like pineapple,'' he said.

When he's not acting or golfing, Jackson can be found hosting awards shows. He's done the ESPY Awards twice, the MTV Movie Awards and the Independent Film Awards.

"It gives me the opportunity to get up close and personal with people who I've admired from afar, who I've imagined myself being in some instances,'' he said. "You have the opportunity to talk to them, meet them, actually feel the presence of that particular person. Some of these guys have some incredible auras about them.''

As in previous years, Jackson will punctuated the show with skits, including Jules from "Pulp Fiction'' as a hockey coach and Windu Mace from "Star Wars'' as a Little League baseball coach.

While the athletic, 53-year-old has been known to play a mean game of hoops, his game of choice these days is golf.

Just how serious is his play? Serious enough that his movie contracts contain a clause that includes country club membership on location and three rounds of golf per week.

A few years ago, he played with Tiger Woods at St. Andrews in Scotland and shot a 79. And he said he'll never forget the Bob Hope Desert Classic in Palm Springs, when Arnold Palmer told him, "Great shot, Samuel.''

"It's fun to impress them,'' he said.