During the recent Tony Awards ceremony, Samuel L. Jackson was nominated alongside talented actors Arian Moayed, Jordan Coope, and David Zayas for Best Performance By An Actor in a Featured Role in a Play category. His outstanding performance in the August Wilson play The Piano Lesson, directed by his wife, LaTanya Richardson, earned his spot on the nomination list.
However, Jackson’s reaction caught the attention of the audience and fans when Brandon Uranowitz was named the winner of the award category for his remarkable portrayal in Leopoldstadt. Jackson maintained a rather unimpressed facial expression, showing little or no change in his demeanor while seated before he eventually joined his fellow nominees in applauding the recipient.
Samuel L. Jackson’s reaction
This is the second time Jackson’s reaction is gaining wide attention on the internet. The actor once faced backlash from fans in 1995 for his reaction at the 1995 Oscars ceremony, where he was nominated alongside Martin Landau for the Best Supporting Actor category.
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Jackson was shocked and lost his cool when Martin Landau was announced as the winner of the Academy Award for his role in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood. His apparent reaction of mouthing the word “Shit!” became viral and captured the fascination of viewers worldwide.
Netizens voice their opinions at Samuel L. Jackson’s Tony Awards display
Following the viral nature of Jackson’s nonchalant facial expression, tweeps have embraced the opportunity to inject some humor into the moment, playfully poking fun at the situation, and creating amusing, lighthearted posts around Jackson’s reaction.
“Samuel L. Jackson does not have good non-winner face,” a Twitter user wrote. “I’m sure his eye roll will be a meme.” Another tweep commented, “Oh my god Samuel L Jackson’s face.”
“Samuel L. Jackson’s face took me all the way out,” another person said. “He looks like he knew he wasn’t getting the Tony.” “Wow, Samuel L. Jackson DOES NOT want to be at the Tonys,” a tweep speculated.
However, some other fans voiced their beliefs that Jackson should have won the award. “Imagine pretending to think that Brandon Uranowitz did a better job at acting in ANY role than Samuel L. Jackson playing in an August DAMN Wilson play!” a Twitter user commented. “Well, the Tony Awards did just that.”
“Samuel L. Jackson didn’t win. I’m done watching the Tonys,” another person wrote. “I rarely watch awards shows, but I watched this one for that reason.”