>> from our studios in new york, this is "charlie rose." charley: samuel l. jackson is here, the highest grossing actor of all time with $10 billion in worldwide ticket sales. his newest film "the hateful eight" is the sixth collaboration with quentin tarantino. tarantino has said jackson is one of the greatest actors to ever say my dialogue. here is the trailer for the hateful eight. >> what makes a man brave a blizzard, kill in cold blood?

i'm sure i don't know. >> you would be surprised what a man would do. starting to see pictures eight you? -- ain't you? >> i'm not anxious to be handing out a ride. >> real trusting fellow. >> not so much. >> who are you?

>> ok everybody. i'm taking this woman to hang. reward is $10,000. that money is mine. >> that's interesting. >> get back on that with her. >> one of them will kill everybody in here. >> now we're talking. >> let's slow it down. let's slow it way down. >> when you get to hell tell them daisy sent you. >> no one said this job is supposed to be easy. >> nobody said it is supposed to be that hard neither.

charlie: you like it. samuel: that is a wonderful trailer. it looks like a interesting movie. charlie: it is. you know what's great, you start here. it is pure quentin tarantino dialogue. samuel: yes. charlie: it is his hallmark. and then seeing people you haven't seen before in a wild -- haven't seen in a while like kurt russell. samuel: bruce was great in nebraska. all the old western references we have, everybody in that rim has seen bruce in a movie playing probably the worst person in the movie.

he made his stamp playing bad guys. he was great to be there. quinton would talk about movies with him. charlie: what is it about you and quentin tarantino? samuel: i have no idea. the fact that it did so much theater and i love language, and i spent a lot of mine use or childhood sitting on the porch with my grandfather listen to radio drama. i learned how to use words, or what the power of words, or the rhythm or beauty of music in telling a story actually was. i love doing it. my grandfather would make me make up stories to tell him. so i learned to do that through listening, andy griffith, the shadow, the whistler.

charlie: and the story about the football player andy griffith told. where did you grow up? samuel: chattanooga, tennessee. charlie: did you decide there where can i use language? samuel: i did not decided there. that was not one of the career options i was given in terms of being a wordsmith or doing that. you were taught you want to have a reputable job, teacher, lawyer, doctor, preacher. when i said i was going to be an actor it shocked everybody. but my mom said what are you going to do for a living? until she saw my first commercial. guest: what was the big break? samuel: big break i guess, when i received -- when they created best supporting actor award at the con film festival and i

received one for jungle fever the calls from hollywood started. charlie: that was a brilliant performance. samuel: i had done the research. [laughter] charlie: it was the movie rather than theater? samuel: that was the goal. i watch movies on my life. i spent all my life going to the movies every saturday. that is what i did. charlie: saying i want to be on the screen? samuel: i didn't know i wanted to be up there. i knew i enjoyed the stories and going home, doing the movie we had seen with my friends and putting our guns on and playing john wayne or roy rogers, frankenstein, dracula, king kong. we played all those games. we did those things.

charlie: here is what quentin terran to know says -- you are the only actor he will let play with his dialogue. you are the only guy that he will allow to even touch his stuff. samuel: yeah. charlie: why should i be surprised? samuel: i don't know that is a surprise. i do know that when i read something he has written and i have thought about the character and analyzed it, i read the script endlessly. i read it over and over again. by the time we start rehearsal i have an idea of who physically the character is because i try to make that out. i talked to quentin tarantino about who he is physically. charlie: like what he wears, how he walks? samuel: what his hair looks like. all those things that i like to make up for a character. i have that discussion with him so that when i am visualizing the character and i read the script for the 25th time i have that character. i can see him on screen in the

film. as i see him and read the words, i realize if this person is seeing it he would say it this way. i make a note. i don't just show up on his set and say something he hadn't written. i will go to him inside i think i know what you mean here but you ought to say it this way. he will say read what i wrote, say the way you want to say it, ok, i like it. charlie: if he likes it, he will keep it. samuel: or he will say say it the way i wrote it. charlie: and you accept that. you don't argue. samuel: yeah. charlie: the way this character is addressed, was that the cost in the you imagine? samuel: we went through several iterations of the cost and

because he actually lives on that mountain. at one point he had envisioned him as more of a mountain man. he had on a different coat and he had leggings that were made of her. in my mind -- when he got to the levon cleve thing we are on the same page. the black suit, the whole army coat that was his. charlie: i love the letter from lincoln. explain that. samuel: we are in a time that is post-civil war. charlie: 1860's. samuel: maybe 5-6 years after the war. to have an interesting item like that can either be a cause for conversation or a cause for a fight in an interesting sort of way. charlie: in the south a cause for a fight.

samuel: especially in person like me to have it. considering my history with the confederacy. having that letter -- having a bounty on my head, by the confederacy because of my proclivity for killing them. [laughter] so to have that letter and run into the right person of the dominant culture was an entree for me to meet those people land have them look at me a different way. charlie: everybody who knew about the letter fed about the letter, talked about the letter. one of to see the letter. samuel: it's a great thing. i had a letter from president obama and i told people i would walk around with a letter, people would be like can i see it?

a personal letter. charlie: and how do you know the president. samuel: exactly. we never referee knows my war record and we were penpals. [laughter] charlie: back to you and quentin. this is one of those things that works. it is like deniro and scorsese. samuel: i like that comparison. charlie: but it is true. samuel: very much so. charlie: what is it? samuel: i think we have a similar respect and love for the cinema. cinema played a big part of our young lives. our childhood lives. i spent a lot of time in the movies. watching television, entertainment with only

children. i don't know he read as much as i did. i read a lot. charlie: he was watching videos. samuel: yeah. i had a great desire to get out of the place i was in into a place i thought was better in the world. places that were different, that i wanted to see and explore. charlie: a place for you to stand to find your dream. samuel: of course. there was nothing in chattanooga that was going to allow me to samuel: i wanted to go to the world. when i graduated high school i applied to a lot of colleges but i also filled out a form on a merchant ship because i wanted to see the world.

my mom found it. she found the letter that came back saying they needed more information before they could give me the job. we'll kind of a job is this? a ship going around the world. charlie: is your mother alive? samuel: she passed two years ago. charlie: so she got to see everything. samuel: she saw me get the star on the walk of hollywood. she went to premieres. samuel: she didn't understand why john travolta died and came back in the movie. she didn't get that whole time adjustment thing. charlie: did you know this was going to be -- samuel: of course not. i knew it will be something that my friends would like. i loved it. i read it cover to cover. it took my breath. i righted again to make sure i wasn't fooling myself.

i said if harvey weinstein let's say shoot it is going to be a great movie. i don't know how many people are going to like it. i did not know it would have lasting power. charlie: a classic. samuel: every year i get 10 million new fans because there are these kids that come of age and their parents or big brothers let them watch it for the first time and they think it's the coolest thing they have seen. charlie: how many movies has he made? samuel: eight movies. charlie: should we have expected him to have made more? does it take that long to make a good movie? samuel: your average director makes 10-15 movies in his career. they are usually the person that has had the least amount of experience of everyone that is there. especially actors. and crew members.

charlie: now you have made so much money and have been so admired and can do anything you want to, is there something you have always wanted to do that you may take time to do? samuel: other than what i do? charlie: to come to broadway. samuel: i'd love to come back. charlie: not one the boys wanted to do? samuel: i do have a desire to be leader or a fellow. charlie: do you have any desire to be jordan spieth? samuel: yes. one day. charlie: i would have said tiger but -- samuel: but not anymore. i would take a good 10 years ago good tiger day. i would like to go to the golf one day and everything i know how to do well goes with me. charlie: what's the best round you ever had?

samuel: two under par. charlie: is that right. is acting different for you now? or is it the same concentration? does it come easier? you know how to access yourself better? samuel: i do know how to tap into those places i need to tap into better and more readily. i don't change the process because the process got me here. there are certain things that i have to do. i have to sit and read the was he in the service? just for me. charlie: to get inside him. what kind of food does he lie? it gives me a whole person to

show up on screen with, who has been places and done things so that when i arrive on screen you know i am coming from somewhere and going somewhere also. i have another life that may have nothing to do with anything going on in the story. charlie: do you get inside that character and get inside the lines by just reading it over and over? having read it 25 times, do you pretty much know it in a broad sense? samuel: i know it by the four or fifth time i have read it. by my lines, by the 15th or 20th time i may be able to recite it. charlie: by the 15th or 20th time. you will sit there and go over and over the same lines.

samuel: i read this story. charlie: do you think that is a gift? samuel: i've never perceived it as such. i'll is thought it was a process because it is always what happened when i was doing theater. charlie: explain to me talents. samuel: talent is having some innate ability to interpret dialogue and emotions, and being able to present them to people in an honest and real way. but you also need what is called a foundation. everybody needs a good grip. a good stance. you have to know of, downstage, dominance, submission. you have to understand the tools you are given by rules in the theater. there are rules and acting you have to live by. charlie: did you get it by doing rather than by going to classes?

samuel: i got it by doing it. by the time i got to new york i had done so many things. i was a theater major. i did a lot of theater in college. we had our own street theater company called black image theater. i did an improvisational children's theater across town at the academy theater and i was also in an improvisational structured theater. and, what else? i had a company we started called -- well. can't remember the name. i did a lot of different kinds of things preparing myself to dive into this big new york theater pool.

i didn't go to class. i would always ask people or people would ask me to audition with them for a certain school. i would do a piece with them and they wouldn't get in the school but they would always offer me a scholarship. charlie: you have the muscle. samuel: i would ask people who are you taking class from? what have they been in? have you seen their work? there is a reason they are charging you to teach you how to act. you know that right? charlie: do you teach what you know? samuel: i probably could but i'm not patient enough for it. i'm very impatient. my wife is good at that. charlie: they say that about athletes. ted williams. he wasn't a great manager because he didn't quite understand how come -- why don't you get it? why can't you do it like i do it? he didn't know how not to do it. samuel: exactly. ♪

charlie: i want to talk about major warring. here is major warren trying to get a ride into town. they are bounty hunters. tape. >> got room for one more? >> who are you? what happened to them? >> currently serving the court trying to bring no goods into market. >> you taken them to red rock? >> that is where you are headed? >> that blizzard has been on us for the last few hours. >> mac, board? >> if it is up to me, yes. but it ain't up to me. >> who was it up to? >> the fellow in the wagon. he paid for a private trip and i'm here to tell you he paid a pretty penny for privacy. you're going to have to talk to him. >> well that is what i'll do. charlie: that's great. you made the point, what do you see in the scene connected to the horses? samuel: the animals that are moving the wagon, i like choruses, i'm admiring them. how strong they are, the fact that they are out here in this weather, withstanding it.

my horses died. i do need a ride. i have to figure out what angle i need to get inside that wagon. [laughter] fortunately we met before. we met and had a steak dinner in chattanooga, tennessee of all places. he has seen my lincoln letter. charlie: and this is major warren talking about their different styles. >> i see you and got mixed emotions bring a woman to a rope. >> you mean her? i do not have mixed emotions. >> you're going to wait around and watch her? >> i'm want to hear her next nap with my own two years. you never watch them hang? >> my bounties never hang. i never bring the men alive. >> never? >> never ever. we talked about this. it is a good way to get yourself dead.

>> no one said the job is supposed to be is the. >> no one said it has to be that hard. that is why they call him the hangman. when john catches you, you don't die from a bullet. when the hangman catches you, you hang.

charlie: that's a great script. it is shotwell. samuel: how that stuff comes out of your mouth -- your talking about yourself. you are expressing your philosophy about your job. i don't do my job the way you do it. i'm a trying to work that hard. it's like office talk. charlie: what is interesting about major warren? >> he was a good soldier. he is and ask slave who enlisted in the war when he realized it was a valid excuse to kill white people. having been in slavery. as they say in the film, i don't think the whole blue and grey of the thing mattered very much. charlie: it was black and white. samuel: an opportunity to gain power that he had never had. he was ruthless. charlie: but he has seen hard

things. he wanted revenge. samuel: he grew up in slavery. naturally he has another way of looking at the world. when people vilify me online -- [laughter] for anything. i've got vilified last week for something i said about the santa barbara shooting. i was -- san bernardino shooting. i was in hawaii onset watching it on fox news for some reason. they were talking about the people they had identified. i said as i sat there i hope it was just another crazy white person with a gun and not -- charlie: not a terrorist act. samuel: because that is having i could process. i didn't want to think that all

of a sudden we were going to have another group of people -- we were already afraid of terrorists, but to validate that would endanger a whole another group of people we haven't been bothering, muslims that live in this country have their way of living. and we trust them in their religion in that way but all of a sudden i felt like once they got identified as muslims every muslim in the country became suspects. charlie: by some in politics. samuel: i didn't want that to be the case. if it was just another crazy white dude that is something we

had processed and we know how to handle. and we've seen not to vilify them in the way that we would vilify some other ethnic group. charlie: have you respond to that? i grew up in segregated tennessee. very segregated tennessee. i was in this country and i saw the signs and heard the words and i've lived through the civil rights movement in terms of what the hate looked like, what it felt like, what it sounded like when i was a kid. growing up. when i say things i say them from a place of i have seen this picture before, or i've heard this hate before. i understand what it is. when i say things like i hope it's not this person or that person -- i watch crimes happen on the news and say to myself i hope it's not a black person. i don't know the white people say they hope things like that? charlie: there is a scene in the

snow, there is a young man who is the son of a character, and how you end his life. in the cold. in a reaction to that? did you have a reaction when you saw in the script? samuel: i laugh the first time. come on. what was that? we had a lot of discussions about it. charlie: i would imagine. they tell me if i killed him they were going to hang me. that's a possibility.

i look at major warren and i don't think that would have happened. he just didn't want to push it that far at that moment. so he concocts a tale as he lays the gun next to him to tell him what happened to his son to make them go for the gun. that is a question as to the veracity of the tale. it is a great tale. charlie: it is it galvanizes your attention. you have no idea how this is going to end. samuel: we asked, who are you going to do to get this job? oh, it is a tarantino movie. some actor is saying make it a tarantino movie in the snow -- sign me up. charlie: the marvel character, have you sign a new contract? samuel: i have three movies to go.

charlie: that has been a big payday. samuel: now actually. it's been a big pay day in terms of fan base. no, i don't do what they make. person makes a lot of movie is downey. we can't get any money. he's got all of it. charlie: you talk about directors and actors pre-jennifer lawrence was here. she is good. she has that kind of relationship that you have with kwame terran tina with david o russell. she said to me, if he calls i pick it up right then. i'm thinking about this, i say yes. samuel: it is great have a relationship like that. i have a relationship like that with george lucas. there are people that say sure. i will do that. no problem. charlie: because you have that much respect for them.

samuel: all quinton has to say is i am sending you a script. he will send me jango. he didn't want to tell me that i wasn't going to be django. that window to be that young gunslinger had passed by. he said -- i don't want to tell you. the character is stephen. who is stephen? he said just read the script. i read it and i was sitting there staring at the script and i called him back and said so you want me to be the most despicable negro in the history of cinema? yeah. ok, let's do it. it was that kind of challenge to me and it looked like that kind of fun. the disappointment is as wonderful as stephen is, they edited out the bad things i did because i don't anybody to kill

you. stephen is a nasty character. he has enough problems being vilified himself as a racist because he uses -- in the scripts that matter put those words in a character's mouth. i always tell people i don't understand why they can't look at his work and realize that every character he's ever given me has pretty much been the smartest character in the film. that has the most dignity and respect, and runs things. and is not a full of any sort. and understands a lot about what is going on in life and the world. for him to write characters like that for me would be impossible for a racist to do.

charlie: what there is in quentin is a writer. samuel: yeah. charlie: we were leaving california on a redeye and we were sitting across from each other. at 12:00, i cut the light off. i'm going to sleep. i woke up at 5:30 looked across and he is still writing. samuel: he wasn't doing that. he was doing that. he does not keyboard. charlie: before i leave you, this was stephen colbert last night. it is hilarious. a sense of stephen at his best and mr. jackson doing some remarkable takes of great movie lines. here it is.

>> these are catchphrases that will forever from here on out and forever belong to you. [laughter] samuel: frankly my dear i don't give damn. [laughter] hello, my name is iningo montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die. lions, tigers and bears oh my. [laughter] [applause] mrs. robinson, are you trying to seduce me? [laughter] [applause] you shall not pass. >> that's my favorite. samuel: nobody puts baby in a corner. [laughter] [applause] hakuna matana. >> will these not belong to him

now? charlie: that is a keeper. thank you for coming. samuel: it is always a joy to be here. charlie: the film is called "the hateful eight" and it is getting a lot of attention approaching oscar time. stay with us. ♪

charlie: "billions" is showtime's new drama about the world of new york's power finance and law. the series comes seven years after the financial crisis and as the national debate continues about wall street regulation and income inequality. the narratives revolves around to opposing figures, a brilliant hedge fund titan and a hardcharging u.s. attorney who is trying to bring him down. joining me now, the stars of the show. also here, the show's creators. i'm pleased to have him here. how did this come about? i've been jealous knowing you were developing this huge property for showtime. >> we developed this and dave levine also. for me, i have been thinking after two big to fail, could you

do a tv drama. that really was authentic, nuanced look at this world of money and power. i never thought it was done on tv. we happen to have the same agent. i kept saying i need a collaborator. one day he said, there are two guys that wrote "rounders." you should go meet them. they are thinking about doing something. they want to do something in finance. we hung out and the journey began. charlie: you have been thinking about this before. >> for a long time. andrew brought to its, we were fascinated by finance and the powers of the united states attorney's office had. ambition and power were things

that were attracted to us. his point of view, his expertise and his ability to connect us with real people would let us do this in a way we couldn't otherwise. charlie: you provided an opportunity to talk to people who will do exactly what your character does. >> yes. charlie: tommy what you learn from that that made them part of the character. damien: axelrod is a central character. charlie: you draw on real-life experiences. damien: to a person i found they had an analytical quality, i found to a man they were risk-averse. charlie: risk-averse? damien: despite dealing with these in norma psalms. he didn't like risk. and where they backed themselves into things their analysis was great. when they think they have a sure bet they may gets. they don't like to do it until that point. charlie: what about the prosecutor size? paul: way faster than my break and ever work. extraordinarily dedicated guys. and, extraordinarily the level of competence. it parallels this risk-averse idea. it is almost terrifying. there is this surety and what they are doing. charlie: i've always wondered whether people were born to be

prosecutors or defenders. prosecutors want to be a predator. paul: it has that definite predatory feeling. charlie: they feel like they are doing good. paul: there is no question they are doing good. they are infallible in lots of paul: a psychologist who works for axelrod. this creates tension and drama for me and her. charlie: she has helped him build his firm. paul: there is no question they are doing good. they are infallible in lots of ways. charlie: one of the characters,

your wife is getting rave reviews for the performance. paul: a psychologist who works for axelrod. this creates tension and drama for me and her. charlie: she has helped him build his firm. paul: she is the kind of character who does move back and forth between the two worlds. she is the most balanced person. charlie: how do you make a show that will be both attracted to the layman audience and yet at the same time be watched and loved by people who actually inhabit that world? >> i would say it is about people. it is about money. but the tagline is it's not about the money. what's interesting about that is, in a way the money is almost a scorecard for the power and pride. that is where we took it. you get inside these lives in a way that is very relatable charlie:. visit soap opera-ish? >> you're doing with ambition and power. that is the question. money as a scorecard.

they talk about winning. that is what they talk about. this question is animating to americans and always has been. it is our past time in a way. the first time we saw it, the british, one of the big questions you had was how americans think about ambition. you felt that it was different. charlie: power. >> and ambition. damien: a man and woman can come here in new york, transform themselves, make a life for themselves. not become presidents and become a success.

that has been to our foreign sensibility, that has been your royalty. the person who makes it is applauded, admired and respected. they congratulated. paul: and the money is inherited. [indiscernible] >> americans love this idea -- mark cuban is our biggest reality star. why is that? charlie: and donald trump before that. >> even further.

we are fascinated by people who self mythologize. you talk about prosecutors on the side of good. they use that position to advance political careers. chris christie, spitzer, giuliani. are they doing good for themselves? they are meant to be disinterested and not using this. charlie: isn't that a line from wendy? quite she is a compromise character as well. damien: every single character seems incapable of making a selfless act without in some way serving themselves. >> on the u.s. attorney.

>> i've been working there since before we were married. long before you were in office. >> the day might come when we came into conflict. >> who makes more money, really? is this what we are teaching the kids? >> are we teaching them that daddy's job is more and then mommy's? charlie: interesting quirks about the characters. you open with -- [indiscernible] you wanted to show a nuance character? >> when we were researching a movie called the girlfriend experience we were interviewing 100 high-priced escorts. when you would get to the bottom of the interview, is there anything that might surprise us? 70 of them said the most powerful client i have is the one who wants to be dominated.

>> the titan of industry. the one with huge control during the day. we thought about that and try to figure out is that the flipside of this need for power? is there a desire to let go watch and mark to not be in control? how does that manifest? as we were building the show we started thinking about how can we showcase that? and i just like looking at paul tied up. [laughter]

charlie: acting was a fine line between delusion and belief? what kind of adjustment with playing an american for you? damien: i'm not good enough to flip in and out between english and american accent so i go to work and i wake up as an american and i take my make about the end of the day and stay in american. it was easier that way. they work on and fines them. i show up like joe pesci, quite excited about doing hand motions. and then, was told promptly -- wrong show. whenever i'm working on american accents it is about cadence and rhythms. more so than vowel sounds. >> when we hung out before starting this we would meet hedge fund managers.

he would do the american accent. only when your wife called -- >> the precision with which you approach each part of the. you said you are so precise, i would want people to watch when you talk about meeting hedge fund guys, you found the way you move, he moves his body, there is a coiled nature with the way he moves. what kind of creature is this? the social issues as well in terms of income inequality, regulation, libertarianism. >> certainly by the end of the season these two guys are going to get into those questions and a heavy way. if we are fascinated by the way money works in this country, why? why can't somebody stop at $10

million? we were sitting with a prosecutor who turned down a job for $3 million a year. we asked why they stayed in the job? it was off the record. they looked us in the eye and said the power. they admitted it. i get to decide who gets prosecuted and who doesn't. >> it's better than the money. charlie: kissinger famously said power is the aphrodisiac. >> you are supposed be doing it for the good of the public. charlie: the power to indict. >> and the power not to. >> is your job, or your job to prosecute when you find violations? this was not somebody at the southern district. i couldn't believe the person actually was willing to admit

they got an endorphin hit from the power. because we hope that our people sitting in these chairs are dispassionately prosecuting the law. that is what they are trying to do. we are as interested in how justice is and is not carried out. it is a rich name. damien: absolute power corrupts absolutely. that must be true of these people. at what point does -- is there a narcissism involved? >> absolutely. you are like a fighter pilot of the law. it is a similar test pilot brain

surgery. a sense of self. charlie: and a visibility. everybody in the community knows you. quite sure. they are doing great things. but so confusing is when you're trying to pull it apart, it gives me a rush because i'm doing good. i'm not saying it's a justification. it is a motive. charlie: will you to refer to real people? >> we do. in some instances we down. >> we refer to mr. buffett in a nice way. >> you promised us a warren buffett cameo.

>> there is a picture of bobby and buffett. damien: i sat opposite him at a white house dinner. the more i was drinking, he became more like burgess meredith. as the evening went on. he's a natural, get him. charlie: he has done cameos. eight in the series? 12 in the first series? >> 12 in season one. charlie: it begins when? >> on the 17th on showtime. but it is on-demand already. you can stream the the first episode. charlie: congratulations. great to see you. thank you for joining us. see you next time. ♪

efforts to restore calm. the chinese currency continuing its rebound. a competitive devaluation falls away. bring back the circuit breakers.