| “ | As a slave of the LeQuint Dickey Mining Company, henceforth until the day you die, all day, every day, you will be swingin' a sledgehammer, turnin' big rocks into little rocks. Now, when you get there, they gonna take away your name, give you a number and a sledgehammer, and say, "Get to work!" One word of sass, they cut 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 'till your back give out. Then, they're gonna hit you in the head with a hammer, throw your ass down the ni--er hole. And THAT will be the story of you, Django!
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| ― Stephen menacing Django. |
“ „ ― Stephen’s last words.
Stephen was the secondary antagonist in the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained. He was Calvin Candie's starkly loyal house slave and close friend. Being a senior house slave more respected than the rest, Stephen personally views himself second only to the white man with all his fellow black people beneath him.
He was portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, who also played Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, Ordell Robbie in Jackie Brown, Rufus in Kill Bill: Volume 2, Narrator in Inglourious Basterds and Major Marquis Warren in The Hateful Eight.
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 Broomhilda, 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 that Django and Dr. King Schultz are trying to take Broomhilda away from Candieland, 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, also shooting Candie's sister, Lara. Stephen calmly throws his cane away and straightens his back, and 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. Django exits the building, and puts glasses on as he and Broomhilda look at the mansion, with Broomhilda covering her ears. Inside the mansion, Stephen continues cursing Django as he watches the fuse lead to a bundle of dynamite. Django and Broomhilda watch calmly as the mansion is destroyed in a fiery explosion, killing Stephen and incinerating his body, as well as the bodies of Billy Crash, Lara, and the two henchmen.
Personality[]
It is shown that Stephen is more cunning and intelligent than the others at Candyland, 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. This is best demonstrated when he wails over Calvin's death and cradles his body in his arms.
Trivia[]
- Although Calvin Candie was the main antagonist, Stephen did most of action and was far more hostile and oppressive than Candie. Following his boss' death, Stephen became the final antagonist.
- It is possible that Stephen's physical appearance was based off of Mister Ruckus, a character from the animated television series The Boondocks. He also bears a strong resemblance to the Uncle Ben food brand character.