Sylvester Stallone is setting the record straight on how Samuel L. Jackson ended up in the world of Tulsa King,and it turns out Stallone had nothing to do with bringing him in.
Speaking exclusively ahead of the show’s season 3 premiere, Stallone said Jackson was the one who pushed for the role.
“He was the aggressor. He wanted to do it so badly,” Stallone shared, explaining that Jackson went straight to the producer, who then approached him about it.
Stallone described Jackson’s presence on set with clear admiration, saying the actor “walks onto the set with complete confidence” and carries a “certain swagger.”
He added that working together felt like a showdown in the best way, joking, “I feel like, here it comes, high noon. It’s gonna be a gunfight between us two. He brings out the best.”
For Stallone, that kind of energy is what makes acting exciting. He said there may be “a little intimidation” at the start, but once things get moving, “after the first punch is thrown, now you’re in it.”
Jackson appeared as Russell Lee Washington Jr. in season 3’s second-to-last episode, Dead Weight, which premiered November 16 and essentially set up his own spinoff, Nola King.
The episode revealed Russell as a top-tier hitman hired to take out Stallone’s character, Dwight Manfredi. But when Russell arrives in Tulsa, it becomes clear he’s giving Dwight a professional courtesy warning, because the two men go way back.
Dwight quickly catches on to Russell’s unlikely travel route, calling it a “f***ed up roadmap,” and their conversation hints that Russell isn’t fully committed to the job.
As the episode unfolds, the two team up to handle other hitmen on the loose in Tulsa. But the real threat ends up being Vince, who arrives from New York and propels the story straight into the season finale.
Jackson’s journey in the Sheridan universe won’t end in Tulsa. In June, it was announced he will lead Nola King, a spinoff centered on Russell returning to New Orleans after more than four decades away.
According to the show’s official logline, Russell heads home inspired by what Dwight built in Tulsa and ready to reclaim control of the city he left behind, but doing so puts him in conflict with powerful enemies in both New York and New Orleans.
Jackson shared earlier this year that he’s thrilled to join Taylor Sheridan’s expanding TV world, saying he’s watched many of Sheridan’s shows himself. “I watched Tulsa King, and I liked it even before that idea came up,” he said.
The Tulsa King season 3 finale arrives on Paramount+ on November 23.