When you think about Tim Burton movies, you usually imagine Johnny Depp in pale makeup or Helena Bonham Carter looking delightfully disheveled. You don't necessarily think of Samuel L. Jackson. But in 2016, that’s exactly what happened. Jackson stepped into the gothic, loops-and-monsters world of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and honestly, it’s one of the weirder entries in his massive filmography.
He played Mr. Barron. If you haven't seen it, or maybe you just remember the white hair and the sharp teeth, Barron wasn't actually in the original Ransom Riggs books. He was a creation specifically for the movie, a sort of composite character designed to give the story a face for all that invisible evil.
Who Exactly Was Samuel L. Jackson's Character?
Mr. Barron is the leader of the Wights. In the lore of the film, Wights are what happens when "Hollowgasts"—these invisible, tentacle-mouthed monsters—consume enough eyeballs of peculiar children to regain human form. It sounds pretty grim because it is. Barron is a shapeshifter, which is how Jackson ends up playing multiple "roles" throughout the movie, including Jake’s psychiatrist, Dr. Golan.
The goal for Barron was simple: immortality. He wasn't just killing kids for the sake of being a jerk; he was a scientist who messed up a past experiment and was trying to fix his "monstrous" state by capturing Ymbrynes (like Eva Green's Miss Peregrine) to power another experiment.
Why the Character Was Controversial for Book Fans
If you grew up reading the Riggs trilogy, you might have been confused when you walked into the theater. In the books, the primary antagonist is Dr. Golan, and the "Wights" are more of a shadowy, omnipresent threat rather than a single guy with a sharp suit and a penchant for eating marzipan eyeballs.
💡 You might also like: Ashley My 600 Pound Life Now: What Really Happened to the Show’s Most Memorable Ashleys
Screenwriter Jane Goldman and director Tim Burton felt the movie needed a singular, charismatic "big bad." They needed someone who could stand toe-to-toe with Eva Green’s intensity. Enter Samuel L. Jackson. He brought a weirdly hilarious, yet deeply unsettling energy to a role that could have been very one-dimensional.
The "Scenery-Chewing" Performance
Jackson has a reputation. You know the one. He’s the guy who yells, the guy with the presence that demands you look at him. In Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, he leans into that. Hard.
He treats the character of Barron like a classic Vaudeville villain. There’s a specific scene where he’s eating a pile of eyeballs with other Wights, and Jackson plays it with such casual, "pass-the-salt" energy that it makes the horror of it pop. He’s not playing a brooding, dark lord. He’s playing a guy who thinks he’s the smartest person in the room and is genuinely annoyed that these "peculiar" kids are getting in his way.
The Appearance: White Eyes and Shark Teeth
The visual design for Barron was pure Burton. Jackson wore milky-white contact lenses that made his eyes look like empty voids—a hallmark of the Wights. He also had these serrated, shark-like teeth that would occasionally pop out.
📖 Related: Album Hopes and Fears: Why We Obsess Over Music That Doesn't Exist Yet
- The Hair: A shock of white, gravity-defying hair.
- The Suits: Impeccably tailored, making him look more like a corrupt CEO than a monster.
- The "Hand-Axes": He could shapeshift his hands into blades or axes, which Jackson used with his typical physical flair.
It’s a performance that mostly works because Jackson doesn't take the "dark fantasy" too seriously. He knows he’s in a movie about kids who can float and lead-footed girls.
What Most People Get Wrong About Barron
There’s a common misconception that Barron was just a generic villain thrown in to fill time. If you look at the production notes and interviews from the 2016 press tour, Jackson actually worked with Burton to make the character "affable."
Jackson said in an interview with Direct Conversations that he wanted to give the audience a "brief respite" from the scary look. He wanted people to laugh with him—and at him. That’s why Barron has lines about breath mints and complains about the inconveniences of hunting peculiars. He’s a villain who's tired of his own job. That nuance is something only an actor with Jackson's mileage could pull off without breaking the movie's tension.
The Final Showdown at Blackpool
The climax of the film takes place at a wintery Blackpool Pier. This is where we see the full scale of Barron's plan. He’s gathered other Ymbrynes to try his immortality experiment again.
👉 See also: The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads: Why This Live Album Still Beats the Studio Records
The battle is... chaotic. It involves stop-motion skeletons (a classic nod to Ray Harryhausen) and Barron using his shapeshifting to trick Jake. Honestly, the ending of the movie diverges so wildly from the book that it almost becomes a different story entirely. Barron’s death—being accidentally killed by one of his own Hollowgasts who mistakes him for Jake—is a bit of poetic justice that fits the slightly dark, slightly goofy tone Jackson established.
Why It Still Matters Today
Looking back, Samuel L. Jackson in Miss Peregrine remains a standout example of how to adapt a book while changing the "rules" of the world. While critics were mixed on the film—it holds around a 64% on Rotten Tomatoes—almost everyone agreed that the cast was top-tier.
Jackson’s presence gave the film a level of "cool" that Tim Burton movies sometimes lack when they get too bogged down in their own whimsy. He was the anchor. He was the guy who reminded us that even in a world of loops and magical children, a guy with a sharp tongue and a sharper blade is still a threat.
Lessons from the Performance
If you're a filmmaker or a writer, look at how Jackson handled Barron. He didn't play "evil." He played "determined and slightly inconvenienced."
- Embrace the Weird: Don't fight the makeup or the crazy hair; use it as a tool.
- Humanize the Monster: A villain who likes a good meal (even if it's eyeballs) is more memorable than a faceless shadow.
- Vary the Tone: Being scary 100% of the time is boring. Being funny and then suddenly terrifying is how you keep an audience on their toes.
If you haven't revisited the movie in a while, it’s worth a rewatch just to see Jackson having the time of his life. He’s clearly enjoying the opportunity to play in Burton's sandbox, and his energy is infectious. It’s not Pulp Fiction, and it’s not the MCU, but it’s a specific kind of Samuel L. Jackson magic that fits perfectly in a house full of peculiars.
To see the character in action, check out the Blackpool pier sequence specifically. It’s where the "Barron" persona really peaks, showing off the blend of shapeshifting, physical comedy, and genuine menace. You can find the film on most major streaming platforms or through 20th Century Studios' digital catalog.