In The Legend of Tarzan, Samuel L. Jackson inhabits the role of George Washington Williams: a real-life Civil War soldier turned mercenary turned social justice warrior who traveled to the African Congo to blow the lid off colonialist genocide and subjugation being systematically implemented by King Leopold II of Belgium in 1890.

Of course in the would-be summer blockbuster (which hit theaters today), the character also helps the Lord of the Jungle™ (Alexander Skarsgard) rescue the captive Jane (Margot Robbie) and performs a crucial expository function in the film via shouted profundities such as, "YOU are Tarzan!"

Warner Bros.

But let's set all that aside for a moment in favor of a larger cultural conversation about Jackson's hair in the movie: a salt-and-pepper center parting that suggests a certain survivalist sprezzatura. It's a carefully considered yet no-nonsense 'do that doesn't require undue maintenance—even during jungle gun fights or when staring down rampaging silverback gorillas.

Of course Jackson is no stranger to concocting character through coiffure. His five-decade filmography is littered with memorable hairstyles that run the gamut from extravagant dye jobs to exquisite extensions, bizarre wigs to fearsome dreadlocks, employing chemical grooming agents and labor-intensive braiding, all in a bid to sear the Hair Club for Sam into our collective consciousness. Hell, the guy even employed his own dedicated hair stylist and wig consultant, Robert L. Stevenson on nearly 30 films. "He was losing his hair at one point and said, 'If I just shaved it all off could we still create looks with wigs?'" Stevenson recalled. "I said, 'Sam, we can basically do anything with wigs.' That's when we started getting into it."

Herewith, a GQ guide to Samuel L. Jackson's most memorable flights of follicular fancy:

Miramax

Pulp Fiction (1994)

The look: Jheri curl killa

How it establishes character: Quentin Tarantino's original tonsorial conceit for the scripture-quoting assassin Jules Winnfield? A gigantic afro. But, as the now legendary story goes, when an assistant bought Jackson the wrong wig, the actor went all-in for the "wet look" (now singularly identified with his defining movie role). "Jules's this philosophizing, highly articulate hitman who has a sense of style," Jackson told The LA Times. "I thought he was very much like NWA—like guys from that particular era. Part of his sense of style is Jheri curl that drips on his collar."

20th Century Fox/Everett Collection

The Great White Hype (1996)

The look: Silver-toned Beatles shag

How it establishes character: Jackson's huckster boxing promoter character is clearly modeled on Don "Only in America" King. But in deliberate avoidance of the real-life ring svengali's signature finger-in-the-light-socket pompadour, Jackson opted to cloak himself in paisley silks and rock a Brit-pop mop top that would make Paul McCartney jealous.

AF archive/Alamy Stock Photo

Jackie Brown (1997)

The look: pin-straight, jet black ponytail

How it establishes character: Portraying black market gun runner Ordell Robbie, Jackson has referred to his wig in the Tarantino crime-drama as his "favorite movie hair." "I could wear it straight down or I could tie a French braid in the back or I could rock a ponytail," the actor said, adding of the character: "He's trying to be this elegant Super Fly kind of guy—Super Fly is his favorite movie and that's what Ron O'Neal's hair looked like."

Walt Disney Co./Everett CollectionMost Popular

CultureShea Whigham Is Always Wearing a Historical HatBy Gabriella Paiella

Sales (Style)All the Sweaters Are on Sale Right NowBy Reed Nelson

GQ RecommendsThe Best Baggy Jeans Are Taking Their Victory LapBy Leon Hedgepeth

Unbreakable (2000)

The look: Chia pet meets Gumby

How it establishes character: Criminal mastermind Elijah Prince's bold persona masks a debilitating physical fragility. Without any of that necessarily in mind, Jackson dreamed up this hairdo with director M. Night Shyamalan as implicit homage to a certain African-American abolitionist icon. "We were thinking about Frederick Douglass," Jackson told MTV. "Big afro with the part, swooping to the side. Fortunately, we wanted hair the was big and like this [he demonstrates with his hands] and this is what he chose for Elijah. it was cool."

Screen Gems/Everett Collection

Formula 51 (2001)

The look: career criminal cornrows

How it establishes character: Sure, Jackson's supposed to be a chemist—an accomplished clinician accustomed to spending long days in an antiseptic laboratory. But the character is also a drug trafficker intent on flooding the UK's narco economy with a powerful new street drug. As such, the actor cribs both a streetwise look and attitude from Snoop Dogg.

20th Century Fox/Everett Collection

Jumper (2008)

The look: Platinum-colored cranial cupcake icing

How it establishes character: Thong-th-thong-thong-thong. Attention Mr. Jackson: R&B singer Sisqo called and wants his hair back. Actually, as the leader of the Paladins, a secret society waging war against people with teleportation powers, Jackson decided he needed to look suitably sci-fi. Hence, the metallic hair hue.

Lions Gate/Everett CollectionMost Popular

CultureShea Whigham Is Always Wearing a Historical HatBy Gabriella Paiella

Sales (Style)All the Sweaters Are on Sale Right NowBy Reed Nelson

GQ RecommendsThe Best Baggy Jeans Are Taking Their Victory LapBy Leon Hedgepeth

The Spirit (2008)

The look: samurai top knot with mutton-chop sideburns

How it establishes character: As the bad guy in this neo-noir box-office bomb, Jackson turns up in any number of outlandish get ups: a cowboy duster coat, Nazi jodhpurs, surgical scrubs, etc. But his kimono-clad samurai gets singled out for special mention here. It's Jackson's most Asiatic look to date (in a Dock Ellis-meets-Toshiro-Mifune kind of way). "There's an Asian sort of theme so we went with the samurai outfit," he told MTV. "It's an opportunity to be larger than life."

Weinstein Company/Everett Collection

Django Unchained (2012)

The look: Southern Gothic Grinch

How it establishes character: Jackson describes him as "the "most hated Negro" in cinematic history," the house slave of a sleazy Southern landowner played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Jackson's character's white, close-cropped hair frames a snowy tuft in the middle of his forehead but also channels the viewer's attention to his malevolent glare and cruelly calculating internal dialogue.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (September 2016)

The look: incredibly evil q-tip

How it establishes character: As yet, we don't know. He reportedly plays Barron, a "Wight" (as creatures that hunt and kill the film's eponymous, magic-powered children are known) in director Tim Burton's adaptation of the YA fantasy novel. But even if he's not a bad guy, Jackson sure looks creepily homicidal emerging from the shadows with his snowy corona of white hair and glowing white eyes.

Related Stories for GQSamuel L. JacksonTVMoviesHair