10 Black, Minority And Ethnic Actors Who Should Have Made The Oscar Cut This Year

3) Samuel L. Jackson For The Hateful Eight

Quentin Tarantino’s latest may be long-winded, over-indulgent and thematically scrambled, but it has a few aces. One of them, namely, is Samuel L Jackson, giving one of his best performances in a good while in his first official leading role for QT. Jackson is the standout in The Hateful Eight‘s ensemble, playing bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren with intelligence.

Some of the role feels familiar – Jackson’s speechifying reminds of Jules Whinfield’s Ezekiel bit, while his incredulous F-bombing recalls just about every part he’s played for Tarantino – but somehow this one just feels more personal to Jackson.

Perhaps the role’s racially-charged nature is what brought Jackson to giving a more human, deeply felt performance than we’re used to seeing from him. Again, more deserving than Redmayne.