I try to set some kind of standard for working so I show up as soon as they call us to set. I know my lines. I'm in place 
After years of supporting roles, 1994's Pulp Fiction was Samuel L Jackson's big rise to the top, with his role in Star Wars propelling him further into superstardom. He has now become one of the most respected actors in Hollywood and in his latest movie, S.W.AT., he stars opposite Colin Farrell.
Were you a fan of the original TV series that inspired this film?
Sure. I used to watch the TV show in the 70s. It was the best cop show at that time but everything's been changed for the movie. It's inspired by the show. We have the big truck and my name is Hondo and Colin is Street, which are the two main names from the TV show. We still have the spirit of the TV show - the camaraderie, the team work, the whole thing. It's really the evolution of what S.W.A.T. is now from what it was then.
How realistic a picture does this film paint of what the S.W.A.T. teams actually do?
It's essentially about what these S.W.A.T. guys do and how they do it. There's not a lot of CGI stuff. It's really watching these guys do their job and the sort of tedium of how they do it. You follow them through their training sessions and so on. We actually went to S.W.A.T. school for two weeks and these guys do this day in and day out. These guys train and train and train and train. We essentially didn't know all this stuff so we learned how to pretend to do things in specific ways. But to be a S.W.A.T. team and to learn to work as a unit was very important, so we'd look good on screen and we could portray these guys in a very realistic way.
There were a lot of young actors in this movie. You play their leader in the film... but was that a role you were tempted to assume off set too?
I guess they saw my responsibility, as the more seasoned actor on set, as kind of setting the standard of what we wanted to do. So when it was time to be on set, I was usually the first guy there. I try to set some kind of standard for working so I show up as soon as they call us to set. I know my lines. I'm in place. I know their lines and I'm aware of what we're going to do. I'm always anxious to get on set and do something. I'm in place and ready to go. I know most of the cameramens' names and I know most of the grips. I speak to them. I treat them the same way as I treat the actors and I let the other actors know that these guys are as important as we are in the greater scheme of making sure the movie works - because it's pretty much a collaborative effort between all of us.
There are no women in the real LAPD S.W.A.T. team but in yours, you have Michelle Rodriguez. So how did she shape up?
Michelle is one of the most energetic people I've met in my life. When they yell "cut", she's off climbing something or doing a 100 yard dash down the street in full uniform just to burn off the energy she's got left! She's physically capable of doing anything a man can do. She can do more push ups and more jumping jacks and she is just such a ball of energy.
What about Colin Farrell?
He's a charismatic guy but he's also an extremely professional guy. He shows up and he does his job. He knows his lines, he's in place and he knows how to have fun doing his job and this is a fun job. You show up to a job like this to do what essentially we did as kids. You come out of the house ready to play cops and robbers and you're ready to play it in earnest. Colin's ready to play and that's what he does in earnest. He looks you right in the eye and gives you an honest characterisation and you can give him something back, then he gives you something back. You're playing and you're having a great time, and that's all I want in somebody.
