Samuel L. Jackson's Voice Has Arrived on Amazon's Alexa—Profanity and All

The King of Cool is now on a smart speaker near you. In September, Amazon announced that Samuel L. Jackson would be lending his legendary vocal talents to its virtual assistant, Alexa—and now that time has finally arrived.
While Alexa has featured celebrity voices like Gordon Ramsay in the past, those Skills have only included a handful of pre-recorded phrases. The Guardian reports that this time, Amazon is using neural text-to-speech technology that can actually mimic Jackson’s voice, so you can really feel like you’re getting the current weather forecast from Hollywood’s highest-grossing actor himself.
Along with updating you on the weather, Jackson will be able to play music, set your alarm, sing you a “Happy Birthday” song, and more. But the Oscar nominee does have his limits: According to Amazon, Sam won’t be able to help with shopping, reminders, lists, or other Alexa Skills.
Jackson, of course, is almost as famous for his profanity as he is for roles in movies like 1994’s Pulp Fiction and 2000’s Shaft, not to mention various film appearances as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And that proclivity for foul language will also be incorporated into his Alexa alter-ego: You can set your device to allow him to swear in his responses.
Amazon will launch the technology later this year for an introductory price of $0.99, before eventually bumping it up to $4.99. If getting shouted at by Samuel L. Jackson doesn’t sound particularly appealing to you, just be patient. Amazon hinted that more celebrity voices are on their way, though it didn’t drop any hints about which ones.