If you ask anyone on the street who plays Nick Fury, they’ll bark "Samuel L. Jackson" before you even finish the sentence. It’s one of those rare cases where an actor has completely swallowed a role. Jackson isn't just playing the guy; at this point, he is the guy. But there’s a whole lot of weird history behind that eyepatch that most casual fans completely miss.
Actually, before the MCU was even a glimmer in Kevin Feige’s eye, the cigar-chomping spy looked nothing like the man who famously demanded those snakes get off his plane.
The Samuel L. Jackson Era (2008–Present)
Basically, Samuel L. Jackson has played Nick Fury in 12 different Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films, plus a handful of TV shows like Secret Invasion and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He started with that legendary uncredited cameo in the 2008 Iron Man post-credits scene. You know the one. He’s standing in the shadows of Tony Stark’s penthouse, talking about the "Avengers Initiative."
That one scene changed everything.
What’s wild is how he got the job. Back in 2002, writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch were rebooting the Avengers for a comic line called The Ultimates. They decided to redesign Nick Fury—who was originally a white guy with greying temples—to look exactly like Samuel L. Jackson. They didn't ask him. They just did it.
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When Jackson saw his own face staring back at him from a comic book, he called his lawyer. Sorta. Instead of suing, he made a deal: if Marvel ever made a movie with Nick Fury, he had to be the one to play him. Talk about manifest destiny. Honestly, it’s probably the best legal settlement in Hollywood history.
The Man Who Was Nick Fury Before the MCU
Here is where it gets weird. If you grew up in the 90s, you might remember a very different version. In 1998, there was a made-for-TV movie called Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Who played him? David Hasselhoff.
Yeah, The Hoff. Fresh off Baywatch, he donned the leather trench coat and the eyepatch to fight HYDRA. The movie was... well, it was a 90s TV movie. It had a $6 million budget and a script by David S. Goyer (who later wrote The Dark Knight, funnily enough). Hasselhoff’s Fury was much closer to the original 1963 "Sgt. Fury" comic version created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby—a gruff, cigar-chomping white veteran who lived in a mine in the Yukon.
It’s campy. It’s got Lisa Rinna as Val de Fontaine. And honestly? Hasselhoff actually looked the part for that specific era of comics. He’s gone on record saying he thinks he was the "ultimate" Nick Fury, though the rest of the world seems to disagree.
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The Voices Behind the Patch
Since Nick Fury is everywhere—cartoons, video games, LEGO sets—a small army of voice actors has stepped into the role. Samuel L. Jackson usually voices the character in the big-budget stuff, like the What If...? series on Disney+ or the LEGO Marvel’s Avengers game. But he isn't always available.
- John Eric Bentley: This guy is essentially the "official" backup. He’s voiced Fury in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, and various Disney XD cartoons.
- Alex Désert: He gave Fury a sophisticated, commanding tone in the fan-favorite series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
- Chi McBride: He voiced the version seen in Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble, leaning into a more "strict mentor" vibe.
- Scott MacDonald: He played the classic, older "Nick Fury Sr." in the first Marvel: Ultimate Alliance game.
Why the Casting Shift Matters
There is a weird bit of comic book "lore" that explains why the actor changed (at least in the books). In the main Marvel Comics universe (Earth-616), the original white Nick Fury eventually left the scene. To align the comics with the movies, Marvel introduced Nick Fury Jr., who just happened to be the long-lost Black son of the original Fury.
It was a bit of a clumsy retcon, but it allowed the comics to have a character that looked like Samuel L. Jackson without erasing the decades of history the old guy had.
In the MCU, Jackson’s Fury is a more grounded, cynical bureaucrat. He’s the guy who "wasn't jaded yet" back in the 90s (as seen in Captain Marvel) but eventually became the master manipulator who faked his own death in The Winter Soldier.
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What’s Next for Nick Fury in 2026?
As of early 2026, Samuel L. Jackson is still the undisputed king of the role. While there’s plenty of chatter about the "New Avengers" and a younger generation of heroes, Fury remains the connective tissue.
If you're looking to catch up on the various performances or understand the character's evolution, here are a few things you can actually do:
- Watch the 1998 Hasselhoff Movie: It’s usually floating around on YouTube or obscure streaming sites. Watch it for the "so bad it's good" factor. It’s a fascinating time capsule.
- Read The Ultimates (2002): See the exact panels that Samuel L. Jackson saw when he realized Marvel was using his face. It’s still one of the best "modern" takes on the character.
- Compare Secret Invasion to The Marvels: These two projects show a massive range in Jackson's performance. One is a gritty, tired spy thriller; the other is a goofy, high-stakes space adventure where he's basically a space-grandpa.
The reality is that while other actors might voice him or play him in alternate-universe "what if" scenarios, the role belongs to Jackson for as long as he wants it. He’s outlasted Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, and he shows no signs of putting the eyepatch in a drawer.
Check out the original Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos issue #1 if you want to see where the name started—it’s a trip to see him as a WWII soldier without the SHIELD gadgets.