Engaging Samuel L. Jackson

In Rules of Engagement, Col. Terry L. Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) is the center of a Marine controversy, court-martialed for ordering troops to fire on civilians during an attack on an American embassy.

Rules of Engagement co-stars Tommy Lee Jones and features Blair Underwood. But Jackson also has been working on the upcoming releases The 51st State, Mefisto in Onyx and Caveman's Valentine (he is producing all three), Unbreakable and Shaft Returns. He also is booked to return to the role of Mace in Star Wars: Episode II.

Early Show Anchor Bryant Gumbel wanted to know: Why is Jackson driving himself so hard?

"I'm not," says the actor. "I really enjoy my job. I only know one way to do it. I have always done it this way. I have always rehearsed a play, done a play, and auditioned for my next play at the same time."

He points out that even more flexibility is available in movies than in stage plays, and as long as he's in demand as an actor, he says, he is taking the opportunity to challenge himself.

In the case of Rules of Engagement, Jackson says, it's the story itself that is its strength.

"If you tell a good story, people will come to see it," he explains. "And I have reached a point now where box office success is one thing. That's someone else's concern. When I choose a script or a character to do, I'm not thinking about the success or the numbers that film is going to create."

Jackson describes Terry Childers as "a career Marine who lives, breathes, and bleeds the Marine Corps. He has no wife, no children, no family to speak of. He's been driven to lead men all his life. He's been to every battle site there is to be in his lifetime. He's dedicated and committed."

But in the movie, Childers also is in trouble because, in the name of duty, he has killed a lot of civilians, and he is going to be put on trial for it.

Although Jackson did serve for five months in the U.S. Navy, he did not draw upon that experience to play Childers. He found he and the character have a lot in common.

"I am pretty loyal to my friends and the things that I believe in," explains the actor. "I'm a strong believer in certain things, and I'll fight for that. I do believe in certain kinds of discipline. Terry Childers is a disciplined individual. I understand taking orders blindly, and wanting to be a leader. I understand all those things."

While the drama in the movie is intense, Jackson, 51, says he managed to have a good time while filming.

"We had a great time. I enjoyed playing soldier when I was a kid, and this was done on a much greater scale," Jackson recalls. "We actually went to a jungle boot camp with a captain in South Carolina. So we did the Vietnam sequence with two Marine fire companies. I had one, TommLee (Jones) had one. We were tromping around in the bush every day."

While the movie touches on such themes as friendship, loyalty, duty, and honor, it is basically a courtroom drama that might invite comparisons to A Few Good Men.

"That's not a bad thing. A Few Good Men was a successful film. Hopefully, this will be as successful," says the star.

At heart, he adds, Rules of Engagement pays tribute to the Marine Corps. "The young men and women that I met while shooting this film are some important and valuable young people who believe in not only this country, but the values that we've set for them. And they want to preserve something that is important to us all."

In 1994, Jackson's celebrity shot out of orbit with his role in Pulp Fiction, the movie known for resurrecting John Travolta's career. Though Jackson has been in hot demand since then (he's got 5 movies in 2000), he had also appeared in about 40 films and TV movies before that mainstream hit. Just look at his filmography — bet you've seen half of them.

After Pulp Fiction, Jackson starred in A Time to Kill, The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Negotiator and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, to name a few.