Samuel L. Jackson has revealed that he didn’t fully understand the powerful message behind Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show until the dress rehearsal. Speaking on the Mad Sad Bad podcast with Paloma Faith, Jackson admitted, “I had no idea what they were orchestrating.”
Jackson, who played a satirical version of Uncle Sam in the show, said the realization came when he looked up during rehearsal and saw a flag onstage. “Oh sh—t, that’s a flag. Ah, f—k, we’re being revolutionaries,” he recalled, describing the moment as surreal.
His role in the show served as a narrator — a kind of Greek chorus — helping tell the story of Black America through Kendrick’s performance. Jackson said the deeper meaning of the show became clear only after seeing the full vision during rehearsal.
The actor also reflected on how this performance fits into his lifelong connection to civil rights. He shared that he once served as an usher at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral and said his career has often placed him “in the right place at the right time” to be part of social change — even when he didn’t realize it at first.
Now looking back, Jackson said he feels proud to have taken part in the halftime show, recognizing it as more than just entertainment — it was a cultural and political moment led by Kendrick Lamar and his creative team.
