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Denzel Washington Celebrates Longtime Friend Samuel L. Jackson, Who Stars in His Son’s First Film: ‘My Children’s Uncle’.Linh

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Samuel L. Jackson’s daughter Zoe “is like our daughter,” said Denzel Washington in a speech honoring his longtime friend at a MoMA benefit

Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson in The Piano Lesson
Denzel Washington; Samuel L. Jackson in ‘The Piano Lesson’. Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty; Netflix

Denzel Washington considers Samuel L. Jackson part of the family.

Washington, 69, was among the presenters at the Museum of Modern Art’s 16th annual Film Benefit, sponsored by Chanel, where Jackson, 75, was honored. “Lord forgive me, Samuel Jackson is a bad motherf—er,” the Gladiator II star began in his onstage comments.

Calling Jackson a “great actor, great friend,” Washington said, “more importantly, he’s family to me. He’s my children’s uncle.” Zoe Jackson, whom the Pulp Fiction Oscar nominee shares with wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson, “is like our daughter,” Washington added.

Washington also explained how he and Jackson became friends 45 years ago.

“He had a leading role in [an off-Broadway production of] Mighty Gents,” he recalled. “I was an understudy. So I watched him. They fired the guy I was understudying after opening night, I took over. I remember him giving me confidence to do the job. He doesn’t know that until tonight.”

LaTanya Richardson Jackson and Samuel L. Jackson attend the 2024 MoMA Film Benefit presented by Chanel on October 23, 2024 in New York City.

The Oscar winner concluded his comments with a sweet message directly to Jackson: “Nothing but love for you, brother, respect for you. I’m here for you. I’m glad that I’m here for you. I look forward to seeing you and working with you. God bless you.”

Danielle Brooks, Ray Fisher, Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, John David Washington and Michael Potts pose backstage at the play The Piano Lesson on Broadway at The Barrymore Theater on November 18, 2022 in New York City.
(Left-right:) Danielle Brooks, Ray Fisher, Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, John David Washington and Michael Potts backstage at ‘The Piano Lesson’ on Broadway in 2022.Bruce Glikas/WireImage

Jackson and Washington have starred on screen together in Spike Lee’s 1990 classic Mo’ Better Blues, as well as in New York theater.

This fall, Jackson appears in The Piano Lesson, which is directed by Washington’s son Malcolm in his feature directorial debut. The August Wilson adaptation, produced by Washington and starring his other son John David, follows Jackson starring in a 2022 revival of the play on Broadway.

Denzel Washington presents US actor Samuel L Jackson with an honorary Oscar onstage during the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences' 12th Annual Governors Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, California on March 25, 2022.
Denzel Washington presents Samuel L. Jackson with an honorary Oscar at the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences’ 12th Annual Governors Awards in 2022.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty

Speaking to PEOPLE exclusively at the MoMA event, Washington says it is Jackson’s “body of work itself, the volume, the quality, the consistency” that he admires most.

Asked about his relationship with Washington, Jackson noted he has known the actor-director’s four kids, who Washington shares with wife Pauletta, since “before they were born. We live close together. So they spend a lot of time in my house, hanging out with my daughter and watching films with me. We’ve been we’ve been close for a very long time.”

Of appearing in The Piano Lesson, Jackson added, “I’m glad that I’m part of Malcolm’s first film.”

Chanel partnered with MoMA on the event as part of its ongoing efforts to support storytellers and “to share [the museum’s] vast film collection and preserve this critical art form for future generations by restoring some of the industry’s most treasured works,” the design house said in a release.

The Piano Lesson, also starring Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu and Corey Hawkins, is in theaters Nov. 8 and on Netflix Nov. 22.