Samuel L. Jackson reminisced on his time working with late rapper Tupac Shakur on the 1992 cult classic “Juice.”
In the movie, Jackson played Trip, the owner of a local store frequented by Tupac’s antagonist character, Bishop, and his three friends. His wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson, played the mother of Jermaine Hopkins’ character, Steele. The film about four friends living in Harlem also starred actors Omar Epps and Khalil Kain.
During an interview with “Sway In The Morning” on June 12, the “Snakes on a Plane” actor revealed that the fellow actress once had to reprimand Pac for cursing around a bunch of women.
The show’s host Sway took a question from a caller who asked Jackson what it was like to work with rappers in films when he shared the story.
“‘Juice,’ can I think back that far?” he said before laughing. “It was great. Being around all those guys, you know, was a fun experience. An interesting experience.”
The 74-year-old then shared the story of what happened between his wife and the artist known for his thug-life image and tattoo and his brutally honest lyrics and social commentary.
“She was the chubby kid’s mom and, uh, I guess Pac was walking through a room one day, and he was cussing somebody up. My wife grabbed him and was like, ‘Young man, you see all these women sitting in here? You can’t be in here cursing, blah blah blah.'”
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Jackson went on to say that everyone in the room let out an exasperated sigh before Tupac apologized. “And he looked at her and was like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, mam.'”
He said after the “Changes” rapper left the room Mrs. Jackson was asked if she knew who he was. She reportedly replied, “‘No! I have no idea who he was, but he shouldn’t have been cursing in front of all these women in this room.’”
“From that point on every time he saw her, he was like, ‘Hey mom, how you doing? blah blah blah,” Jackson concluded his story.
The “Juice” star added that “it was a joy” to work with the entire cast, which also included other rap artists like Queen Latifah, Ed Lover, Treach, and Erik Sermon.
“It was a joy to work with somebody who understood what was going on,” Jackson continued. “As much as everybody puts Pac in that whole, you know, rapping world, he did go to a performing arts school. He understood the business of acting and what was going on.”
Before his untimely passing in 1996, Tupac starred in other movies such as “Above the Rim,” “Gang Related,” and opposite Janet Jackson in “Poetic Justice.
