LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: As Ben Affleck stars in 'The Flash,' released on Friday, June 16, and Samuel L Jackson prepares for his role as Nick Fury in the upcoming 'Secret Invasion' series, their collaboration in 'Changing Lanes' in 2002 has resurfaced, along with a little-known secret between the two actors. Affleck shared a behind-the-scenes anecdote about a nickname he playfully bestowed upon Jackson but with no intention of revealing it to him in person.
“One of the things that I really like is that you have two types of protagonists,” Affleck reflects on the movie 'Changing Lanes'. “Both characters do things that are kind of reprehensible at times. And I think that the way it’s done, it makes audiences shift allegiances back and forth between the two men throughout the movie – which is unusual, I think,” he told BBC at the time.
Ben Affleck's secret nickname for Samuel L Jackson revealed
Describing 'Changing Lanes' as a character-driven actor's movie, Affleck found it to be a challenging and rewarding experience. He was particularly thrilled to collaborate with seasoned actor Jackson, whom he secretly referred to as "Slam Jackson" behind the scenes.
However, Affleck admitted that he never called Jackson by that nickname to his face, jokingly fearing that the Marvel star would retaliate. “On this film we’re doing, we call him ‘Slam Jackson’ because it just seems like a cool nickname, but I don’t call him that to his face ‘cause I’m afraid he’ll kick my a*s,” said 'The Town' star.
'I kind of needed to just recharge my acting battery!'
For Jackson, 'Changing Lanes' provided an opportunity to explore a different side of his acting abilities. Known for his portrayals of tough and larger-than-life characters, Jackson welcomed the chance to showcase more range in his performances. “I mean, it’s kind of easy to put on great clothes, talk tough, do all that stuff; that’s fun and I enjoy doing it. But I’ve done drama all my life and I like exploring the human experience in a lot of different ways,” the 'Jumper' actor once said.
"This guy was so complex, was having, all these issues and he was a complete 360 degrees from Shaft and all those other kinds of bada*s characters that people try to associate me with all the time. I tend to think I have a facility for doing just about anything and I wanted to play a guy who was quietly raging in that way,” he continued. “Movies are great for entertainment and escapism and all that other stuff. I don’t make a point of doing movies that are a slice of life, this is what we need to be doing with ourselves kind of thing. But this was a good story and the guy inside of it was a good challenge for me as an actor after having done all these other things for a while, so I kind of needed to just recharge my acting battery,” he said.
