Samuel L. Jackson Posed as an NBA Legend's Security on Vacation Together

Samuel L. Jackson has been appearing on screen for more than four decades and has become one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. Still, he apparently isn't instantly recognizable to many people on the street.

This anonymity is something Jackson has used to his advantage. On Jan. 31, the Argylle actor stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live and spoke about how he's tried to pass himself off as a non-celebrity in the past, even when he's in the presence of another famous friend: NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.

Jackson and Johnson vacation together every summer, and when fans recognized the basketball legend, Jackson didn't want to be noticed. Luckily, wearing masks during the pandemic helped him keep his identity under wraps in public.

"When COVID was happening, that was kind of like the best for me in a way," Jackson explained. "I'd be with Earvin. Everybody knows him. He'd take a picture with the worst person on the planet." Rather than get in on the photos with fans himself, Jackson preferred to be behind the camera instead. "During COVID I could have my hat, my sunglasses, and my mask on and I pretended to be security," Jackson remembered. "So I would actually take pictures for other people with him."

Jackson added that people hand him their phones to take a picture of them with Johnson "all the time." And despite the actual Samuel L. Jackson standing there in the flesh, fans sometimes confuse another friend of theirs with the real thing. "We have another friend who travels with us," he said. "He's Black and bald so they think he's me. So he signs a lot of autographs and takes a lot of pictures too."

Now, when admirers see Johnson out on vacation this summer, Jackson's cover might be blown.