The DNA of William "Action" Jackson can be found in almost every modern action blockbuster. He helped bridge the gap between the classic Hollywood leading man and the modern anti-hero. Without the groundwork laid by Jackson and his peers, we might not have the genre-bending success of actors like Wesley Snipes, Denzel Washington, or Michael B. Jordan.
He died in 1892 in a boarding house in Denver, Colorado, largely forgotten. His last words, according to the landlady, were: “The curtain’s falling… and I forgot my next line.” william action jackson