Argylle: Samuel L. Jackson Called on Famous Friends to Help With Character's Memorabilia Collection
Jackson had a lot of input into the design of his lair.
In Argylle, little is known yet about Samuel L. Jackson's character. One thing that he's willing to reveal is -- as seen in the film's trailer -- his wealthy eccentric finds himself surrounded by sports memorabilia. The exact nature of the set decoration is something that Jackson had quite a bit of input into, with generations of notable Black athletes represented, including Jackson's friend Magic Johnson.
Speaking with ComicBook.com about the film, Jackson -- who has a pretty great memorabilia collection of his own, including a bunch of action figures based on his own characters -- shared some insight into the process.
"We talked about it. That was one of the first days I saw Matthew after we decided I was going to do this job," Jackson told ComicBook.com. "I went over to talk to him and talk to the set decorator and everybody about the kind of stuff I would want. They gave me plenty of input, so I got to use Negro League jerseys, and Magic, who is one of my best friends, put up his jersey. Some Ali memorabilia and stuff in there. So yeah, it was kind of okay to have that whole milieu in what supposedly is a spy lair."
Speaking about his personal collection, he said that the coolest memorabilia he owns is some Glass art that he himself commissioned.
"The coolest thing, I had a makeup artist on Glass who was a sculptor, and I had him make busts of all the characters in the movie, miniature busts that I gave to all the cast members, and I have a set of them," Jackson said.
Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World franchise) is Elly Conway, the reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly's fictional books -- which center on secret agent Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate -- begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Accompanied by Aidan (Oscar winner Sam Rockwell), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly's fictional world and her real one begins to blur.
The top-flight ensemble cast features Henry Cavill (The Witcher), John Cena (Fast X), Oscar winner Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Grammy-winning pop superstar Dua Lipa (Barbie), Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Emmy winner and comedy icon Catherine O'Hara (Schitt's Creek), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service), and the legendary Samuel L. Jackson. Alfie is played by Chip, the real-life cat of supermodel Claudia Vaughn (née Schiffer).
Argylle is in theaters on Friday.