Being 'Coach Carter'

The new film "Coach Carter" opened at No.1 at the weekend's box office, taking in over $23 million. Inspired by a true story, it stars Samuel L. Jackson as an unorthodox basketball coach who wants to inspire his team both on and off the court.

The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen recently sat down with Jackson to talk about the film and career.

"This is definitely not your typical story and Ken Carter is not your typical guy," says Jackson about the controversial coach he portrays. "Both the story and Ken are about teaching young people to expect more from themselves and to see beyond their present."

Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 when he benched his undefeated team for not living up to the academic expectations he had for them.

Stay tuned for more.

"Coach Carter" is being released by Paramount Pictures, which is owned by the same parent company as CBS.

Some Facts About Samuel L. Jackson

• Born Samuel Leroy Jackson in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 21, 1948
• Married to actress LaTanya Richardson, whom he met at Moorehouse College; they have one daughter, Zoe.
• Jackson's first feature was 1972's "Together for Days"
• Jackson won a special jury prize as Best Supporting Actor at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival for his role in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever"
• His success led to small roles in "Strictly Business" (1991), Ernest Dickerson's "Juice," "White Sands," "Johnny Suede," "Patriot Games," "Jumpin' at the Boneyard," and "Fathers and Sons" (all 1992).
• He followed with two comedies in 1993, "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon I" and "Amos and Andrew." He finished out the year in supporting roles in three wildly different projects: the Hughes Brothers' "Menace II Society", Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" and Tony Scott's "True Romance", scripted by rising star Quentin Tarantino.
• In 1994, Tarantino put Jackson in a Jheri-curled Afro wig to play Jules, a philosophical hit man, in the acclaimed "Pulp Fiction" for which Jackson received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor.
• Jackson's choice of roles, post-"Pulp Fiction," yielded mixed critical and box-office results. It wasn't until 1998 that he would be paid $5 million to star opposite Kevin Spacey (at $4 million) in "The Negotiator." And the following year, he was asked by George Lucas to be Jedi Knight Mace Windu in "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace"
• In 2000, Jackson was a Marine Colonel embroiled in controversy in "Rules of Engagement" and a cool private eye in "Shaft."
• In 2002, he co-starred with Ben Affleck in the sociological thriller "Changing Lanes." Then, he reprised his "Star Wars" role in the sequel, "Attack of the Clones;" appeared as a mysteriously scarred NSA Agent Gibbon in "XXX;" and took the lead as kilt-wearing master chemist Elmo McElroy in the Brit indie thriller "Formula 51."
• In 2003, the actor tackled the role of Lt. Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson in the big-budget, straight-faced screen adaptation of the '70s cop drama "S.W.A.T." He then traveled to South Africa for production on the film "Country of My Skull," based on the best-selling novel by South African writer Antjie Krog. Jackson will portray an American reporter who must cope with the aftermath of apartheid as his newspaper assigns him to cover the Truth and Reconciliation Trials established by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, that expose the worst cases of torture, abuse and violence.
• Jackson has already filmed his role as Mace Windu in the third installment of George Lucas' "Stars Wars: Episode III", due in theaters May 2005. And "XXX2: State Of The Union," with Ice Cube replacing Vin Diesel in the lead role is in post-production.
• In addition to "Coach Carter," Jackson will appear in Les Mayfield's "The Man," opposite Eugene Levy in April 2005. Also this year, he will star in the independent film "In My Country," based on the best-selling novel by South African writer Antjie Krog.