When it comes to acting careers, Samuel L Jackson has quite literally done it all. Best known for his work in Star Wars, the MCU, and leading some of the best action movies, Jackson has dabbled in some pretty outrageous stunt work in his time. However, nothing compares to this Christmas movie.
If you were to list the actor’s most dangerous and crazy stunts, you’d imagine something from his time as MCU character Director Nick Fury would be up there. Fury gets put through the wringer a fair bit in the Marvel movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier, to the point where he is presumed dead. Or maybe you’d reckon Jedi Master Mace Windu‘s lightsaber duels with Sith Lords would be among his most strenuous work.
Well, his involvements in the Captain America cast and the Star Wars cast are not what came to mind for Jackson. In an appearance on the Jennifer Hudson Show, Jackson revealed it was the ‘90s movie The Long Kiss Goodnight that contained his wildest stunt to date.
One scene in the spy movie sees Jackson and co-star Geena Davis jump out of a window, shoot at the ice below with a machine gun, and land in freezing cold water to escape a dangerous situation.
Discussing the logistics of this stunt, Jackson said: “It was -37 degrees that day. They cut a hole in the ice and they put a hot tub in it to make sure we didn’t float away, because there was a current in the lake. They had to break the ice because it would freeze over between shots, and we would get in. They told us to count to five, and we would come up. Then we’d crawl across the ice, and they’d put us in a hot tub while they looked at the replay.”
“We did it five times,” he added. “I have never felt anything like that in my life. You know that headache you get when you drink milk too fast? Multiply that by 20. Oh, Lord! My brain was like, ‘What are we doing?!”