The iconic 1970s movie that inspired Samuel L Jackson’s ‘Pulp Fiction’ speech: “I always wanted to do that”
Samuel L Jackson said Robert Shaw’s Indianapolis speech in Jaws inspired his ambition to perform a film monologue. That influence matters because Jackson’s forceful biblical-style speech as Jules in Pulp Fiction became one of his most recognised scenes, despite its very different delivery.
Shaw’s scene recounts the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and a shark attack in a restrained, conversational tone, with the story itself creating the tension. Jackson said he had always wanted to do something similar, and described monologues as a rare, nerve-racking chance to carry a scene without relying on another actor to match his emotional weight.
In short
- Robert Shaw’s Jaws speech inspired Jackson to want to perform a monologue.
- Jackson’s Pulp Fiction speech uses a very different, more theatrical delivery.
- He says monologues can feel daunting because one actor carries the scene.
Explained simply
Jaws is a 1975 thriller directed by Steven Spielberg, about a great white shark that threatens a seaside town. Robert Shaw plays Quint, a fisherman who joins the hunt for the shark. During a scene on a boat, Quint tells the others about surviving the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during the Second World War and the shark attacks that followed.
Samuel L Jackson later played Jules, a hitman, in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction. Jules delivers a lengthy speech that draws on a passage from the Bible, though the film changes its wording and meaning. Jackson has described Shaw’s scene as an influence on his wish to perform a monologue, in which one character speaks at length without another actor carrying the exchange.