Samuel L. Jackson goes viral for his reaction after losing Tony award to Brandon Uranowitz
Samuel L. Jackson's face became a meme on Sunday, after fans noticed his less-than-impressed reaction to losing at the 76th Annual Tony Awards.
The Unbreakable star, 74, was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play at the event - held at United Palace Theater in New York City - for his role in The Piano Lesson, which was his wife LaTanya Richardson's Broadway directorial debut.
However, when he lost to Brandon Uranowitz, 36, who starred in Leopoldstadt, fans quickly noted the apparent disappointment in his face, along with what appeared to be a slight eye-roll.
'Samuel L. Jackson does not have a good non-winner face. I'm sure his eye roll will be a meme,' one commentator wrote on Twitter.
Another one shared the moment all actors were featured alongside each other on the screen, and wrote: 'Samuel L. Jackson's face is taking me out for some reason!' with a crying out laughing emoji.
Not impressed: Samuel L. Jackson's face became a meme on Sunday, after fans noticed his less-than-impressed reaction to losing at the 76th Annual Tony Awards
Disappointed: However, when he lost to Brandon Uranowitz, 36, who played in Leopoldstadt, fans quickly noted his apparent disappointment
Nominated: The actor, 74, was nominated for the Best Actor in a Play award at the event - held at United Palace Theater in New York City - for his role in The Piano Lesson
TONY AWARDS 2023: Winners at a glance Best Musical — Kimberly Akimbo Best Play — Leopoldstadt Best Musical Revival — Parade Best Leading Actress in a Musical — Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo Best Leading Actress in a Play — Jodie Comer, Prima Facie Best Leading Actor in a Musical — J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot Best Leading Actor in a Play — Sean Hayes, Good Night, Oscar Advertisement
'Samuel L. Jackson didn't look happy,' another added with a laughing emoji.
Another fan compared his face to that of his Marvel character Nick Fury, writing, 'Samuel L. Jackson looked like Nick Fury after realizing he didn't win his category.'
'Awww Samuel L. Jackson,' someone else added, appearing to empathize with the actor's loss.
However many fans also seemed to understand where Jackson's disappointment was coming from.
'I thought Samuel L. Jackson was gone win that...' a commentator wrote on Twitter.
'Samuel L. Jackson was robbed. But of course let's give it to... never mind,' another disappointed fan commented.
Comments continued to pour in, with someone else adding, 'Samuel L. Jackson lost I hate it here actually.'
He received more words of encouragement, with someone else adding, 'Samuel L. Jackson bodied The Piano Lesson.'
Eye roll? Many also noted what appeared to be a slight eye-roll from the Unbreakable actor
A meme: 'Samuel L. Jackson does not have a good non-winner face. I'm sure his eye roll will be a meme,' another commentator wrote on Twitter
Funny: One person shared the moment all actors were featured alongside each other on the screen, and wrote: 'Samuel L. Jackson's face is taking me out for some reason!'
Not happy: 'Samuel L. Jackson didn't look happy,' another added with a laughing emoji
Nick Fury: Another fan compared his face to that of his Marvel character Nick Fury
Empathetic: 'Awww Samuel L. Jackson,' someone else added, appearing to empathize with the actor's loss
Understanding fans: However many fans also seemed to understand where Jackson's disappointment was coming from
Robbed: 'Samuel L. Jackson was robbed. But of course let's give it to... never mind,' another disappointed fan commented
Hate it: 'Samuel L. Jackson lost I hate it here actually'
Bodied the role: He received more words of encouragement, with someone else adding, 'Samuel L. Jackson bodied The Piano Lesson'
Uranowitz was among the first big winners of the night, as the theater world gathered together for the annual celebration of all things Broadway.
He joked that his 'imposter syndrome is on fire' as he made an emotional speech to accept the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play.
In his impassioned speech, Uranowitz spoke out about anti-Semitism and the 'false promise of assimilation,' both of which are explored in his play Leopoldstadt. He also addressed his parents in a teary moment.
'The only thing I've wanted in this life is to be able to repay you for the sacrifices you've made for me,' he said, addressing them in the audience.
He was later pictured looking thrilled as he posed with his award backstage.
Meanwhile earlier in the night Jackson was joined by his glamorous wife LaTanya Richardson as they hit the red carpet at the event.
He looked dapper wearing a dark navy tuxedo with a bowtie and a pair of reading glasses.
His wife of 43 years wore a glamorous floor-length black coat with whimsical neon green feather sleeves.
Proud moment: In his impassioned speech, Uranowitz spoke out about anti-Semitism and the 'false promise of assimilation,' both of which are explored in his play Leopoldstadt. He also addressed his parents in a teary moment
Thrilled winner: He was later pictured looking thrilled as he posed with his award backstage
Awkward! At one point Samuel was pulled into host Ariana De Bose's fun, approaching him and his wife LaTanya Richardson and awkwardly getting them to stand up out of their seats
The actor previously spoke about the honor of being nominated in a statement: 'It’s a thrill to be nominated – this honor is particularly special having been under the direction of LaTanya and getting to continue August Wilson’s legacy on Broadway after first performing The Piano Lesson on stage at the Yale Repertory Theater 35 years ago.'
The 1987 Pulitzer Prize winning tale is that of 'a Black family torn between legacy and ambition, the past and the future,' according to Deadline.
Samuel and LaTanya have a longtime love story as they met when they both were in college back in 1970.
They eventually married in 1980 and have one child, 41-year-old freelance film and television producer Zoe Jackson.
This year's ceremony has also become the latest production to have been impacted by the ongoing Writers Guild of America Strike. It marks the first time in 35 years that the Tonys had been afflicted by the WGA strike.
Despite the challenges, the show will went on.
The ceremony aired on CBS in an unscripted format, and the union agreed not to picket the event. Broadway icon Lin-Manuel Miranda also dropped out as writer of the opening segment in solidarity with the WGA.
Seasoned actress Ariana DeBose hosted this year's event from the United Palace Theatre in Washington Heights.
Stylish duo: Meanwhile earlier in the night Jackson was joined by his glamorous wife LaTanya Richardson as they hit the red carpet at the event
Broadway debut: The Piano Lesson - based on August Wilson's famed play - was his wife's Broadway directorial debut
The top prizes went to a trio of acclaimed shows. Kimberly Akimbo scored several awards, including the night's final honor, Best Musical.
Tom Stoppard's searing historical drama Leopoldstad won Best Play, while Parade was honored with Best Musical Revival and Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog won for Best Play Revival.
Kimberly Akimbo won the most Tony Awards at five, while Leopoldstadt was close behind with four awards.
Jodie Comer won Best Actress in a Play for Prima Facie, a one-woman show about a defense attorney known for representing men accused of sexual assault whose convictions are shaken when she is a victim of the same crime.
Victoria Clark added to the many winners from Kimberly Akimbo. She plays the lead role, a teenage girl suffering from a disease that causes her to age extraordinarily fast, making her resemble the 63-year-old theatre veteran.
J. Harrison Ghee made history as one of the first two non-binary actors to win a Tony. They won for Best Actor in a Musical for the adaptation of Billy Wilder's Marilyn Monroe–starring comedy Some Like It Hot, while Alex Newell became the first non-binary actor to win earlier in the evening for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Shucked.
Rounding out the lead acting winners was Will & Grace's Sean Hayes, who won Best Actor in a Play for Good Night, Oscar, a biographical drama about the pianist, actor and public intellectual Oscar Levant.
Leopoldstadt traces the path of a wealthy Jewish family in Vienna caught in the crossfire of the Holocaust after escaping Eastern Europe's pogroms. It marks the fifth time Stoppard has won a Tony — a record — in a career lasting over five decades,
It deals with similar themes of antisemitism and virulent hate as Parade, which premiered in 1998. The musical recounts the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory superintendent in Georgia who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of a 13-year-old girl.
Modern scholars largely believe that he was innocent, and at the time, Georgia's governor commuted his sentence to life in prison, only for a mob to kidnap him from the jail and lynch him in the murdered girl's home town.
Topdog/Underdog focuses on two Black brothers struggling under the weight of racism and dwindling opportunities, before dark secrets are revealed that threaten to destroy their tenuous relationship.
Source: Daily Mail
