Jackson's rant highlights enduring issue of racial misinformation

Being chased or attacked. Being nude in public. Dying. Drowning. Falling. Flunking a test.

These calamities star in the classic nightmares that haunt our sleepy time under the sheets.

I bet Sam Rubin gladly would have traded any of those nocturnal nerve-rackers for his nightmarish day at the office last week.

Rubin — an entertainment reporter for KTLA-TV, you might recall from the viral video — is the poor soul who committed the cardinal sin of confusing actor Samuel L. Jackson with fellow African-American actor Laurence Fishburne.

Shooting the breeze in the opening moments of an interview to promote Jackson's new action flick, "RoboCop," Rubin asked one of the highest-grossing actors of all time about the reaction he'd received from "that Super Bowl commercial."

Except Jackson wasn't in a Super Bowl ad.

Fishburne was, reviving his Morpheus role from "The Matrix" trilogy in a Kia spot.

"What Super Bowl commercial?" Jackson asked.

"Oh" — Rubin responded after an awkward pause — "you know what, my mistake."

Perhaps — as Conan O'Brien tweeted — the poor schlub assumed the "L" in Samuel L. Jackson stood for "Laurence Fishburne." As several minutes of live, cringe-worthy TV unfolded, we learned one thing: The "L" certainly doesn't stand for leniency.

"You're as crazy as the people on Twitter. I'm not Laurence Fishburne," Jackson blasted.

He brushed off Rubin's repeated mea culpas, perhaps recalling the wisdom of Trip, his character in the movie "Juice" ("Just 'cause you pour syrup on something doesn't make it pancakes!").

So Jackson unloaded again: "We may be all black and famous, but we all don't look alike!"

And on it went.

Talk about a nightmare. One shared recently by the E! channel, which mixed up actresses Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, and George Stephanopoulos, who confused basketball icon Bill Russell with ...Morgan Freeman.

I don't know if Rubin's faux pas was a slip of the tongue, an innocent gaffe or whether he, as Jackson implied, is afflicted with what psychologists call "cross-race recognition deficit" — aka all-blacks-look-alike syndrome.

I do know Jackson couldn't have whacked the poor guy any harder had he wielded a Louisville Slugger — as he did playing bat-wielding Principal Joe Louis Clark in "Lean on Me."

And like Clark …

Beg pardon?

That wasn't Jackson? It was … Morgan Freeman?

Well, that clinches it. As a public service for Black History Month, and in the spirit of the Rubin-Jackson dust-up, let me clear up any potential misidentification of seven famous black firsts:

•In 1845, Macon Bolling Allen became the first black to ace the bar and practice law in the United States, not to be confused with Denzel Washington, who played personal-injury lawyer Joe Miller in "Philadelphia."

•In 1983, Guion Bluford soared as the first black astronaut to travel in space, not Jeff Burton, who in 1968 played the astronaut Dodge in "Planet of the Apes."

•In 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize for her poetry collection "Annie Allen," not Janet Jackson, who played the poet Justice in the movie "Poetic Justice."

•In 1975, Lee Elder cracked the barrier as the first black golfer to play in the Masters Tournament, not Will Smith, who played caddy Bagger Vance in "The Legend of Bagger Vance."

•Louis E. Lomax caught on as the first black television journalist in 1958 after joining WNTA-TV in New York, not Terrence "T.C." Carson, who played a TV reporter in the film "Livin' Large!"

•In 1953, Willie Thrower became the first black quarterback in the National Football League, not James "Jimmy" Alexander Dix, played by Damon Wayans in the movie "The Last Boy Scout."

•Barack Obama is the first African-American to serve as president of the United States, not Jackson, who plays the commander in chief in the forthcoming flick "Big Game."

There you have it. Jackson, as the DJ in "Do the Right Thing," asks, plaintively, "Are we gonna live together? Together are we gonna live?"

Avoiding Rubin-esque nightmares with a little cultural awareness — and a little understanding from the aggrieved — can bring us closer to that.

Laurence Fishburne to Star in ‘Roots’ Remake for A&E Networks

AMANDA EDWARDS/WIREIMAGE

JULY 1, 2015 | 09:37AM PT

Laura Prudom

News Editor@lauinla

Laurence Fishburne has been cast as Alex Haley in A+E Networks’ “Roots” remake, Dirk Hoogstra, History channel’s exec VP & general manager, announced Wednesday.

Haley is the author of the novel “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” an American family origin story based around the life of Kunta Kinte. The “Roots” remake will be an original, contemporary production, incorporating material from Haley’s novel, as well as carefully researched new scholarship of the time. Haley died in 1992.

“Roots” will be simulcast on A&E, History and Lifetime in 2016.

The Emmy-winning actor currently appears on NBC’s drama “Hannibal” and ABC’s half-hour comedy “Black-ish,” on which he also serves as executive producer. On the bigscreen, Fishburne will next be seen in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

“Roots” is described as a historical portrait of American slavery recounting the journey of one family’s will to survive, endure and ultimately carry on their legacy despite enormous hardship and inhumanity. The narrative spans multiple generations, beginning with young Kunta Kinte, who is captured in his homeland in the Gambia and transported in brutal conditions to colonial America, where he’s sold into slavery. Throughout the series, the family continues to face adversity while bearing witness and contributing to notable events in U.S. history — including the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings and eventual emancipation.

The scripted event series is an A+E Studios production in association with Marc Toberoff and the Wolper Organization, the company that produced the original miniseries. Will Packer, Toberoff, Marc Wolper, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal serve as executive producers. LeVar Burton and Korin Huggins are co-executive producers. Konner, Rosenthal, Alison McDonald, and Charles Murray are writing. Hoogstra, Arturo Interian and Michael Stiller serve as executives in charge of production for History. “Roots” is distributed internationally by A+E Networks under the A+E Studios International banner.

Laurence Fishburne cast as Perry White in 'Man of Steel' -- EXCLUSIVE

Man of Steel

Posted August 2 2011 — 9:40 PM EDT

Lois Lane and Clark Kent just got their boss: Laurence Fishburne will play Daily Planet editor-in-chief Perry White in Man of Steel, EW has learned exclusively. White has traditionally been a hard-charging, old fashioned newspaperman, who relies on his ace reporters, Clark and Lois, to get the big scoop. Jackie Cooper played White in the Christopher Reeve-era Superman films, and Frank Langella took on the role in director Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns in 2006.

The casting resolves the question of what Laurence would be up to following his departure this May from CBS’ long-running CSI after just over two seasons. (Ted Danson will take Fishburne’s place on the show this fall.)

The Superman reboot, produced by Christopher Nolan and directed by Zack Snyder, stars Henry Cavill as Clark (a.k.a. Superman), Amy Adams as Lois, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, and Diane Lane as Martha Kent. David Goyer (Batman Begins) is penning the script. Man of Steel is due to begin filming this fall, and is slated for release on June 14, 2013. (Reporting by Jeff Jensen)

'Man Of Steel’ Taps Laurence Fishburne As News Chief Perry White

Superman reboot continues casting even after being pushed back to June 2013.

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The Daily Planet has made its latest, greatest hire: Laurence Fishburne will reportedly play Perry White, the long-standing editor in chief of Metropolis’ go-to newspaper, in the Superman reboot“Man of Steel.”

 and other sources report that Fishburne has been cast as Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s hard-charging, occasionally comic-relief-bestowing boss. Warner Bros., however, is not yet making the official announcement, with a rep telling MTV News the studio cannot comment on the reports.

Fishburne is joining a long line of previous Perrys, from Jackie Cooper, who played the newsman in Christopher Reeve’s “Superman” films, to Frank Langella, who stepped into White’s shoes for 2006’s “Superman Returns,” to Michael McKean, who took on a short Perry arc on TV in “Smallville.”

Fishburne becomes the first African-American actor to portray White. He’s also, in one of those odd Hollywood confluences, one of a handful of crime-procedural vets to join “Man of Steel.” After recently departing “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” Fishburne will meet up in the Superman film with Christopher Meloni (the “Law & Order: SVU” vet who is playing a military general) and Harry Lennix (who is also playing a general and once appeared on “Law & Order: LA”). Lennix also starred with Fishburne in the final two “Matrix” films.

The Fishburne casting leaves one prominent Daily Planet post unassigned. Amy Adams is playing reporter Lois Lane, while Henry Cavill is gearing up to become Clark Kent himself. So who will step up to play photographer Jimmy Olsen? Stay tuned, because even though “Man of Steel” has been delayed until June 2013, Warner Bros. isn’t wasting any time putting together the remaining in-front-of-the-camera talent.

Laurence Fishburne American actor

Laurence Fishburne, in full Laurence John Fishburne III   (born July 30, 1961, Augusta, Georgia, U.S.), American actor noted for the intensity of his performances. He was the recipient of a Tony Award (1992) for his work in August Wilson’s play Two Trains Running, and he also earned multiple Emmy Awards. He is probably best known, however, for his role as Morpheus in theMatrix film trilogy.

Fishburne began acting as a child, making his film debut in Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975) at age 14. He then lied about his age to win the part of Clean, a gunner on a swift boat in Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now (1979). The experience of filming in the Philippines with a veteran moviemaking cast and crew had a profound impact on Fishburne, who became committed to succeeding in Hollywood. Initially he found only roles as hoodlums, and he was happy to take the part of the lighthearted Cowboy Curtis on the children’s television show Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. He worked again with Coppola in Rumble Fish (1983) and Cotton Club (1984) and with directors Steven Spielberg in The Color Purple (1985) and Spike Lee in School Daze (1988).

In the 1990s Fishburne hit his stride, turning in noteworthy performances in King of New York (1990),Boyz ’n the Hood (1991), Deep Cover (1992), and Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993). His portrayal of musician Ike Turner in What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993) earned him an Academy Award nomination for best actor. In 1995 he became the first African American to play Shakespeare’s Othello in a major film. In The Matrix (1999), Fishburne appeared as a guru who reveals an alternate universe to a young hacker (Keanu Reeves). The successful film paved the way for two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).

In 2006 Fishburne played a professor who coaches a girl from south Los Angeles to compete in a national spelling bee in Akeelah and the Bee. Later that year he also appeared as a hotel chef in Bobby, a film about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. In 2009 he starred in the action thriller Armored, and two years later he portrayed a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention executive in the epidemiological thriller Contagion. In the Superman movie Man of Steel (2013), he played Clark Kent’s newspaper-editor boss.

In addition to his film roles, Fishburne’s work on stage and on television brought him acclaim. Following his performance in Two Trains Running, he portrayed King Henry II in a 1999 Broadway production ofThe Lion in Winter, and in 2006 he appeared in August Wilson’s Fences in Pasadena, California. He then starred as Thurgood Marshall in Thurgood, a one-man show staged on Broadway (2008) and later aired as an HBO movie (2011). Fishburne’s other small-screen credits include the TV films The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) and Miss Evers’ Boys (1997); for his role in the latter movie, a fictionalized portrayal of the Tuskegee syphilis study, he won an Emmy Award. From 2008 to 2011 he was a cast member of the popular television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In 2013 he began appearing in the seriesHannibal, and in 2014 he joined the cast of the sitcom Black-ish.