Samuel L. Jackson Once Shared Ryan Reynolds Ruined His Signature Catchphrase

Samuel L. Jackson teamed up with Ryan Reynolds on the 2017 movie The Hitman’s Bodyguard . During one critical scene in the film, Reynolds might’ve adlibbed a line that called out Jackson for his signature catchphrase.

Ryan Reynolds referenced Samuel L. Jackson’s catchphrase in ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’

Very few actors curse in their films like Jackson. The star’s signature catchphrase in his features, “Motherf***er,” has become just as famous as he is. But it’s a reputation the Star Wars star has great pride in. And it seems Reynolds ended up poking fun at Jackson for his constant swearing in Hitman’s Bodyguard . There’s a line in the thriller where Reynolds’ character accuses Jackson of ruining the word motherf***er. Jackson was uncertain that this piece of dialogue was in the script.

“I’m not sure. But it probably was. It does sound like an adlib. Yeah. That plays more on me as a human being than as [the character] Darius Kincaid,” Jackson once told Den of Geek .

Not that Jackson minded the line either way. He was actually thrilled someone called him out on his swearing for a change.

“I thought it was hilarious. Yeah. Because most people say I glorify the word. That’s the first time I’ve heard someone say I’ve ruined it,” he said.

To Jackson, the word naturally comes off his tongue in a movie. He feels there couldn’t be a more appropriate term in certain movies.

“I embrace it. It is what it is, and I don’t mind if I’m linked with that word,” he once said according to Vanity Fair . “I don’t run away from it. I step into it. When I read a script and it’s on the page, I don’t think about it. For me, it’s really just another word; it’s another piece of dialogue, and it’s something that I know that I can work with. I don’t have to think about how to say it. It naturally comes out. Sometimes there’s no better word than ’motherfucker’ to describe someone or a situation. It’s an all-encompassing word, so yelling it out is the way you say it, and it feels good.”

Salma Hayek practiced swearing for Samuel L. Jackson

Salma Hayek couldn’t be upstaged by her Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard co-star Jackson. She played the fierce wife to Jackson’s notorious hitman in the film. So she had to look believable standing alongside the Marvel star. To prepare, Hayek quipped that she spent a considerable amount of time practicing her swear words.

“It’s fun, but it was very intimidating at the beginning. I was like Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver in front of the mirror practicing my ‘motherf***er,’ ” she once said according to People . “Because I had to say it in front of him a lot of times and it’s quite intimidating.”

But at the same time, Hayek shared that some of Jackson’s own attitude rubbed off on her.

“I have to be very careful because I still have a little bit of [my character] Sonia that comes out here and there,” she said. “My daughter, one time I was— she just went ‘Mom!’ and I went, ‘Oh, it was not me. It was Sonia.’ Now I use it every time I say something I shouldn’t say.”

Samuel L. Jackson’s favorite swear word helps overcome his stutter

Swearing also has another, healthier purpose for Jackson . Growing up, he lived with a stutter that creeps back into his speech every now and then. Swearing, however, has become an effective means to keep his stuttering in check.

“I was the other day on the set of Captain America, and they said ‘Action,’ and I said, ‘G-g-g-et …’ It was a ‘G’ day. So I have my days. I have ‘G’ days, I have ‘P’ days, I have ‘B’ days, I have ‘S’ days, and I’m still stuttering. But I figured out a way to do it. And some days, the best thing for me to do is say my favorite word, and I get through it: ‘Motherf***er,’” Jackson once said according to Vulture .