Samuel L. Jackson’s shocking reaction after losing Tony award becomes meme
Samuel L. Jackson might not have won a Tony, but his face after losing has won the internet.
The 74-year-old actor was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play at the 76th annual Tony Awards for his part in “The Piano Lesson,” directed by his wife, LaTanya Richardson.
But when Jackson lost to Brandon Uranowitz — who won for his role in “Leopoldstadt” — viewers took notice of Jackson’s less-than-pleased reaction.
The “Pulp Fiction” actor seemingly looked disappointed, and he appeared to give a slight eye roll — and fans quickly turned his reaction into a meme online.
“Samuel L. Jackson does not have good non-winner face. I’m sure his eye roll will be a meme,” one person correctly predicted.
“Samuel L. Jackson’s face is taking me out for some reason,” another added with a laughing emoji.
One person compared Jackson’s face in real life to that of his fictional Marvel character: “Samuel L. Jackson looked like Nick Fury after realizing he didn’t win his category.”
“Samuel L Jackson didn’t look happy,” someone wrote, adding a laughing emoji.
“Watching the Tonys and SLJ did not get the featured actor award for the Piano Lesson. You could tell he was disappointed,” another pointed out.
While his disappointed face is now officially a meme, some fans also empathized with the actor.
“Awww Samuel L. Jackson,” someone wrote.
“Samuel l Jackson lost I hate it here actually,” another commented.
Uranowitz, 36, was one of the first big winners of the night, and the award marked his first Tony win and fourth nomination.
He joked that his “imposter syndrome is on fire” during his emotional acceptance speech in which he spoke about antisemitism and “false promise of assimilation” — two topics touched on in “Leopoldstadt.”
