“I love wearing it and it loves me,” said Samuel L Jackson as he turned up to the world premiere of his new movie in a kilt. The American star was in London’s Mayfair for the first night of 51st State, in which he stars as a streetwise US chemist about to set up his last big illicit substances deal and introduce a new designer drug to the European market.
But the Pulp Fiction star admitted he had not gone “commando”, and was wearing woolly briefs beneath the garment. “I’m not wearing it – how do you say? – 'Scottish-style' tonight,” he said. “I was banking on this role, due to the fact that in the script it made clear that the character would have to wear a kilt.”
The film’s screenwriter, Stel Pavlou, also turned up in a kilt for his movie’s debut. Though the scribe had been turned down for more than 600 jobs in media and publishing, he sent the 51st State script to Samuel. He was stacking shelves in an off-licence when he heard that Hollywood was going to turn his screenplay into a $20 million blockbuster.
The tough-acting star – in real life he is said to be a pussycat – hit the bright lights of London with his co-stars Emily Watson and Rhys Ifans, although Robert Carlyle, who plays gangster Felix De Souza was unable to attend.
Other London celebrities at the premiere included Denise Van Outen, George Lucas, Meg Mathews, Jonny Lee Miller and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, who wore what can only be described as a pelmet-sized remnant of Samuel’s kilt. “I have made sure that I don’t get in any trouble tonight by wearing two pairs of extra thick knickers,” she said.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
