Samuel L. Jackson Once Held Martin Luther King Sr. Hostage To Make Change, But It Got Him Expelled

Samuel L. Jackson is widely regarded as one of the most fearsome actors in Hollywood. Who can forget his terrifying performance in Pulp Fiction, for example? Or his villainous turn in Kingsman: The Secret Service? It turns out, though, that the star is actually just as tough — and just as much of a renegade — in real life.

Heading to college

And you only have to look at Jackson’s dramatic educational background for proof. In 1966 the Deep Blue Sea star enrolled at Morehouse College, a predominantly black institution in Atlanta. This also happened to be civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.’s alma mater. Jackson’s world would soon collide with the civil rights activist’s and in more ways than one.  

The hostage crisis

You might not be aware that Jackson got involved in a hostage crisis that involved King Jr.’s same-named father. Yes, this sounds like a storyline from a Hollywood movie, but it actually happened. And the Academy Award nominee would end up getting expelled from his college as a result. So what exactly went down between the pair? 

Shockwaves around the world

Well, the story starts to take shape two years into Jackson’s studies at Morehouse College, in 1968. This was when King Jr. was gunned down in an assassination that sent shockwaves around the world. In a 2018 chat with magazine The Hollywood Reporter Jackson recalled the moment he heard the news.  

Hearing the sad news

Jackson said, “I was actually in the liquor store buying a quart of beer because it was campus movie night. The cashier said, ‘Dr. King got shot.’ I said, ‘Is he dead?’ And he said, ‘No, not yet.’ Sadly, the civil rights activist did end up passing away from his injuries.