Samuel L. Jackson disputes a study claiming The Wolf of Wall Street star Jonah Hill holds the record for uttering the most curse words in movie history. Jackson is set to receive an Honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement later this year at the 2022 Governor’s Awards.
Jackson of course has been nominated for a proper acting Oscar only once in his career, snagging a Best Supporting Actor nod for Pulp Fiction but ultimately losing out to Martin Landau for Ed Wood. Since that Pulp Fiction snub, Jackson has obviously gone on to have an iconic career, thanks in part to his particular talent for uttering loads of curse words on screen (indeed the entire semi-ironic popularity of the movie Snakes on a Plane was owed to Jackson’s famous reading of the line “I have had it with these motherf—king snakes on this motherf—king plane!“). Rather than shy away from his reputation for swearing a lot in movies, Jackson has embraced the distinction of being film history’s most prolific curser. However, it seems this distinction may not belong to Jackson either, as a 2020 study by Buzz Bingo claimed Superbad’s Hill actually holds the record with 376 curses uttered to Jackson’s 301, with Leonardo DiCaprio also besting Jackson at 361 curses.
The subject of this somewhat controversial movie cursing record in fact came up as Jackson appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote his new Apple TV+ miniseries The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. Suffice it to say, Jackson is not buying that Hill has cursed more than him in movie history, proclaiming “That’s some bulls—t” when informed of the Buzz Bingo study (via Complex). Jackson went on slamming the study, saying “Jonah Hill. Really? And then Leo. Jonah Hill, then Leo. I don’t believe that. Somebody has miscounted.”
These huge cursing numbers for Hill and DiCaprio of course became massively inflated due to their performances in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, where their characters uttered f-bombs right and left. Indeed Hill in 2020 shouted out Scorsese for helping him snag the all-time cursing record away from Jackson, saying on Instagram “So many people to thank. Martin Scorsese, thanks for pushing me over the edge. And of course the great Samuel L. Jackson. Humbled.”
Of course while Hill may according to this study technically hold the record for most curse words said onscreen, no actor is more well-known for his ability to utter memorable curse words than Jackson. The Wolf of Wall Street may have included the sheer volume of f-bombs needed to push Hill over the top, but when it comes to cursing, quality is arguably more important than quantity.
