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| “ | As a slave of the LeQuint Dickey Mining Company; henceforth until the day you die, all day, every day, you'll be swingin' a sledgehammer, turnin' big rocks into little rocks! Now; when ya get there, they gonna take away ya name, give ya a number and a sledgehammer, and say, "Get to work!" One word of sass, they cuts out your tongue! And they good at it, too. You won't bleed out! Oh, they does that real good! They gonna work ya; all day, every day, 'til ya back give out! Then; they gonna hit ya in the head with a hammer, throw ya ass down the n***a hole, and THAT will be the story of you, Django! | „ |
| ~ Stephen menacing Django, on his future as a mine working slave, until the latter's demise. |
Stephen is the secondary antagonist of the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained. He's the old head house slave of the Candyland plantation in Mississippi, and Calvin Candie's loyal confidant and friend.
He was portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, who also played Gator Purify in Jungle Fever, Greg Meeker in White Sands, Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, Carl Lee Hailey in A Time to Kill, Ordell Robbie in Jackie Brown, Elijah Price in Unbreakable and Glass, John Mills in Twisted, Frank Tenpenny in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Derrick Vann in The Man, Roland Cox in Jumper, Officer Abel Turner in Lakeview Terrace, Octopus in The Spirit, Chaney in Oldboy, Richmond Valentine in Kingsman: The Secret Service, Major Marquis Warren in The Hateful Eight, Mr. Barron in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Preston Packard in Kong: Skull Island and Marcus Banks in Spiral: From the Book of Saw.
Biography
Stephen is shown to be the head slave within the plantation and is very close and loyal to his master, Calvin Candie. Despite being a black man himself, he looks down on all the other slaves (if not his fellow black people in general) and is displeased with seeing Django riding a horse. Stephen had previously punished a slave named Broomhilda, who happens to be Django's wife, for trying to run away by locking her in a hotbox. After noticing a connection between Django and Broomhilda, he intimidates and questions her on how she knows him. Stephen later informs his master of his prior suspicions that Django and Dr. Schultz are actually trying to take Broomhilda away from Candieland, rather than initially purchasing a slave (her as well for a lower price) under the false pretense of starting a circus with the slave performing as a strongman with him being billed as "The Black Hercules", which quickly brings out Candie's much darker side upon the duo.
After Candie is shot and killed, a grief-stricken Stephen cradles his master's corpse in his arms. After Django massacres most of Candie's henchmen, Stephen forces him to surrender by threatening to shoot Broomhilda. Django is tied up and about to be tortured, but Stephen then decides that a more suitable punishment would be to send him away to work to death with other slaves at the Lequint Dickey Mining Company.
Django escapes his captors and returns to Candieland following Candie's funeral, confronting Stephen and his followers inside the mansion. He tells all of the slaves, excluding Stephen, to get as far away from the plantation as possible, which they agree to. Django then incapacitates and kills Billy Crash and the remaining henchmen, including Candie's sister, Lara. Stephen calmly throws his cane away and stands up normally, revealing he was pretending to be limping the whole time. He tells Django he counted six shots, before Django pulls out another gun, shooting Stephen in both of his knees, making Stephen lose his calm demeanor, and wounding him in the process. As the incapacitated Stephen is left hysterically cursing Django on the floor, Django ignites a fuse within the bundle of dynamites being rigged in the mansion before walking out of the mansion, leaving Stephen to his fate. He and Broomhilda then watch as the Candieland mansion, with Stephen still inside, is obliterated in a huge fireball explosion, effectively destroying it in the process as well as killing Stephen, and incinerating the lifeless corpses of Billy Crash, Candie's henchmen, and Candie's sister.
Personality
It is shown that Stephen is more cunning and intelligent than the others at Candieland, including Calvin himself. He sees himself being above the other slaves and it's implied he, being a father figure to Calvin, molded him into the sadist as seen in the film. Despite his cruelty; Stephen is shown to love Candie and seems to have Calvin's best interests at heart, often; he's shown sucking up to Candie, repeating, laughing with, and agreeing with whatever he says. This is best demonstrated when he wails over Calvin's death and cradles his body in his arms, mourning him deeply. Despite being shown to have a limp, he's actually feigning it, possibly to secure his position of influence and avoid toiling in the cotton fields and gives himself away slightly during the hostage situation, and again when he expected a fistfight with Django to happen. Showing that he is; indeed, able-bodied and capable before being crippled for real and left for dead in the incineration of the Candieland Manor by Django, all the while hurling insults and cursing him to the end.
Gallery
Trivia
- His personality is based on Uncle Ruckus from the Boondocks.
- Samuel L. Jackson believes that his role as Stephen was likely his best shots at the Best Actor Oscar, as he was the most evil character he ever played and thinks that black people are generally rewarded for playing "horrendous sh*t".
 Villains
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Candieland Bennet Manor Other | ||
