'Lakeview Terrace' actor's roles range from bad guys to good, likable to not


"If you do enough movies, you're going to play cops a lot, and you're going to play bad guys," said the actor, 59.

Over the years, Jackson has prepared for his roles by training with various law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department's elite SWAT team, the Secret Service, FBI, CIA and various branches of the military.

"It's been kind of cool being able to do all that stuff and fire live weapons and see if you're able to use them," he said, chuckling.

Jackson has no preference for character types; he's simply eager to tackle roles that intrigue and challenge him.

"I just look at the character and, if I like him, I start figuring out ways to make his point of view mine," he said.

Jackson counts 113 feature films to his credit, and he's not planning on quitting — or slowing down — soon.

Earlier this year, he starred in the sci-fi thriller "Jumper" and had a cameo as superhero Nick Fury in the summer hit "Iron Man." (He may reprise Fury in the sequel.)

He also has three more films coming out this year, including the comedy "Soul Men," co-starring the late Bernie Mac, and "The Spirit," a comic book adaptation from noted comic book writer Frank Miller in his directorial debut.

Angry watchdog

In the Neil LaBute-directed thriller "Lakeview Terrace," which opens Friday, Jackson plays an LAPD officer with a chip on his shoulder. Abel Turner's beef isn't with a criminal foe or a commanding officer but with his newly arrived next-door neighbors. Turner is a widower trying to raise two children and instill in them his high moral standards. They live on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac, and Turner is the unofficial neighborhood watchdog. He's also a traditionalist with conservative values.

The arrival of Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa Mattson (Kerry Washington) next door gets his blood boiling. From the get-go, he doesn't like them or their lifestyle. (They like to canoodle in the nude in their backyard swimming pool.) In response, Turner launches a series of pranks and insults designed to convince the young couple to move out.

His anger only increases when he is placed on extended leave from work for using inappropriate force, which gives him more time to focus his venom on his neighbors. As he crosses the line from annoying neighbor to dangerous adversary, the couple try to fight back. It's only a matter of time before the resentment escalates into a potentially deadly standoff.

Not a bad guy'

Although audiences may regard Turner as the "bad guy," Jackson suggests that the label is inaccurate.

"Abel Turner has a definite point of view that he's not afraid to express," he said. "He has a moral compass. It just kind of goes another way."

Jackson relishes the fact that the line between who's good and who's bad is blurred.

Jackson worked closely with LaBute to round out the character, making him more three-dimensional.

"In the early versions of the script, he was just an out-and-out bully," the actor recalled.

LaBute, best known for dramas that reveal the ugly side of human nature ("In the Company of Men," "Your Friends and Neighbors"), points out that race is just one facet of the escalating battle between Turner and his neighbors.

"I guarantee there are a couple of people watching the movie who will go, OK, I get that; I'm with him,'" Jackson said with a wry smile. "I wanted audiences to actually have a chance to make a choice between, do you want to be on this guy's side or do you want to be on that guy's side?"

Familiar territory

The role of the angry suburbanite is hardly a new one for Jackson, who played a similar firebrand in 2002's "Changing Lanes." Roger Michell, another playwright, helmed that drama. It also pitted his character against a white adversary, but their dispute went beyond race.

In both projects, Jackson saw an opportunity to explore the mind-sets of two extremely territorial individuals. He credits the filmmakers for looking beyond skin color to uncover the reasons underlying their anger.

"It's great to have people who are more concerned about character and story than guys who are sitting there looking at a monitor, worrying about the composition of the shot," he said.

Always one to speak his mind, Jackson questions the movie's PG-13 rating. With its adult orientation, he thinks that the studio could have gone all-out and made an R-rated thriller.

"What's the point?" he asked about efforts to tone it down.

Diverse resume

Born Samuel Leroy Jackson in Washington, D.C., he wasn't an overnight sensation. He paid his dues in theater and film, then worked his way up from supporting roles as bad guys and drug addicts before turning leading man.

Never sticking with a specific type, this chameleon-like actor purposely seeks out different roles in various film genres. His diverse credits include his Oscar-nominated performance as a philosophical hit man in "Pulp Fiction," his crack addict in "Jungle Fever," the title role in "Shaft" (the 2000 remake) and Jedi council leader Mace Windu in the "Star Wars" series.

His other credits include "Snakes on a Plane," "Coach Carter," "Caveman's Valentine," "Jackie Brown," "The Negotiator" and "Die Hard with a Vengeance." He also provided a character voice in the 2004 animated feature "The Incredibles."

He's been married to actress LaTanya Richardson for 28 years, and the couple have a grown daughter, Zoe.

On the small screen, Jackson serves as executive producer for Spike TV's animated series "Afro Samurai." He recently finished voicing the title character for the second season and is reviewing a draft of a live-action "Afro Samurai" script.

"Hopefully, we'll get that up and running soon," he said.