Dec 6, 2008, 8:00 GMT
Samuel L. Jackson wants to be "the black Michael Caine".
The black Michael Caine: Samuel L. Jackson - "The Spirit" London Premiere - Arrivals - The Old Sorting Office - London, UK © Solarpix / PR Photos
The 'Lakeview Terrace ' star insists he has no plans to retire, adding he hopes to enjoy as lengthy a career as 75-year-old Michael.
Samuel said: "Retiring from what? There's no reason to - I'm going to be the black Michael Caine."
The 59-year-old actor - who was recently honoured at the 23rd annual American Cinematheque Awards, which pays tribute to "an extraordinary artist in the entertainment industry" - also admitted he often goes to watch his own films in the cinema to see how the audience reacts to them.
He is quoted by film website movies.ie as saying: "Sometimes you expect the audience to be disappointed, sometimes you expect them to be a little confused. Even the difference between a premiere audience and a paying audience is night and day.
"People who come to a premiere want to fellate you in a certain kind of way. Your name comes on screen and they start cheering and they laugh at everything. It's such a false gauge for what the movie's going to do. You've got to go and watch with real people."
Samuel adds he does not understand actors who are too embarrassed to watch their own films, claiming the profession is full of "narcissists" who love nothing better than seeing themselves on the big screen.
He added: "That's a problem for me. When actors say that I generally think they're lying because this business is kind of narcissistic and if you don't want to watch it, why the hell would you expect somebody to pay $10.50 to go and watch it?"
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