We all have our superstitions but, as Captain Marvel star Samuel L. Jackson reveals to our sister publication SFX magazine, his method for learning Nick Fury’s lines might just top the lot. It all boils down to that pesky eye patch, something which Jackson has worn ever since he debuted as Fury in the MCU a decade ago. It’s OTT and a little bit silly, but it definitely gets the job done.
When asked whether it was liberating to not wear an eye patch in Captain Marvel (as Fury loses his eye either during the movie or some point after it), Jackson replies that “[The eye patch] is not a pain in the ass,” but that the whole process involving rehearsals and learning the lines without an eyepatch was the biggest annoyance of all.
“I discovered on the first Captain America that I couldn’t learn lines with two eyes open and do them with one eye covered,” he admits. You can see where this is going. Despite not having to don the eyepatch in Captain Marvel, Jackson is so used to the idea of Fury having one in-character that he’s got a neat fallback to help him get into role.
“So now when I’m actually doing Nick Fury I cover my left eye when I’m learning my lines, so I still have the full visualisation in my head. It’s a very weird thing but it works.” That’s an absolutely incredible bit of method acting. How did he come up with it? In all seriousness, at least we know the eye patch is comfortable and that he’s approaching the character from all angles - even the one where you have to cover up your eye like you’re playing a half-hearted game of hide-and-seek.
For more from Nick Fury himself, as well as interviews with other members of the Captain Marvel cast, be sure to pick up the new issue of SFX magazine, out Wednesday, February 27.
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