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Samuel L. Jackson

Right now, my favorite athlete is Tiger Woods. Growing up, it was Muhammad Ali.

I remember watching Ali fight Sonny Liston. Meeting [Ali] was fun, bigger and better than I could imagine. I’ve talked to him at different stages of his life.

We still talk and laugh. Being able to see him, touch him and talk to him is a great thing. To be in the position I am and to know him is really cool.

I play golf twice a week and the studio pays for it (1). My friends in California got me into golf. Next thing I know, I’m hitting golf balls. I bet they regret it. They won’t play me.

I’m really competitive. I was an only child.

I played basketball and ran track (2). I was a very good runner–an extremely good hurdler.

Carter was there every day (3). He realized I was going to do what I want to do with the role and he couldn’t do anything about it. I made him better looking.

“North Dallas Forty (4)”. It’s a football movie modeled after the Cowboys. It was kind of like the first movie where the football players are flawed and not sports heroes. They’re on drugs.

I was shooting “Long Kiss Good Night” in Toronto when the [Raptors] started. I went to all their games and have been a fan since then. In “Jackie Brown,” I blew them up with “Raptor bag (5).”

I only watch baseball during the playoffs. The season is too long. I started watching British soccer when we were filming “Formula 51.” Liverpool is my team. I went to a few of their games. I watch some rugby. One sport that I watch but don’t get is cricket.

I wouldn’t call it a sports movie (6). More like a drama. There’s the journalism aspect. The father-son element. What is truth? Champ (7) has been telling his story for so long, for him, that’s the truth.

He’s a different guy. It’s a great story. A man being in a high place, has fame, lives a rich life. Then he falls from his lofty role. I did as much reading as I could about him.

He was in a very comfortable place. No bitterness. He was happy and satisfied with the way life played out. To him, he was still the champ.

“Resurrecting the Champ” opens Friday.

(1) – Clause included in Jackson’s film contracts.

(2) – Riverside High in Chattanooga, Tenn.

(3) – In 2004’s “Coach Carter,” Jackson played high school basketball coach Ken Carter. The real-life Carter was frequently on the set during filming.

(4) – What’s your favorite sports movie?

(5) – In one scene, Jackson tells someone to put the money in his Raptor bag, which has the team logo on it.

(6) – “Resurrecting the Champ.”

(7) – Jackson plays Bob Satterfield (a.k.a “Champ”), a former boxing great living on the streets.