Back when Brie Larson joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a certain segment of movie goers made their bitter voices heard — Brie was almost immediately criticized by a troupe of trolls who didn't like her real-life stance on feminism, minorities and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
While the trolls used the megaphone of the Internet, Samuel L. Jackson came to Brie's defense back then. He still stands by her today.
"Brie's a stronger person than people give her credit for," he told Rolling Stone.
Sam and Brie first met on the "Kong: Skull Island" set, which was released in 2017.
"We had done 'Kong' together, which was not the most wonderful experience for either of us. We became great friends during that particular experience because we were having such a hard time," he recalled.
Soon after, the frequent costars appeared together in Brie's directorial debut in 2017's "Unicorn Store."
"When she was doing 'Unicorn Store' and trying to get a particular actor, I was in the makeup trailer with her and was like, 'Why are you trying to hire this other actor and not trying to get me to do your movie?'" Sam recalled asking. "She said, 'I didn't think you'd ever do it… so, will you?' And I was like, 'Let's do it.'"
While filming the movie, Donald Trump won the 2016 election, something that rattled the Oscar-wining actress. Sam noted how much the two had bonded throughout the presidential race.
"She was broken and I was like, 'Don't let 'em break you. You have to be strong now.' Then, when she got Captain Marvel, she called me and was like, 'They want me in the Marvel Universe. Should I do it?' And I was like, 'Hell yeah! Let's do it,'" he said. "But she's not going to let any of that stuff destroy her. These incel dudes who hate strong women, or the fact that she's a feminist who has an opinion and expressed it? Everybody wants people to be who they want them to be. She is who she is, and she's genuinely that."
Sam and Brie will again reunite on screen later this year, as they are set to star together in November's "The Marvels."