John Shaft is a fictional character created by screenwriter Ernest Tidyman as a sort of African American version of Ian Fleming's James Bond. He was portrayed by Richard Roundtree in the original 1971 film and in its two sequels, Shaft's Big Score (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973), with Samuel L. Jackson portraying his nephew (also named John Shaft) in the 2000 version of the film. The blurb on the paperback on which the original film is based states Shaft is "Hotter than Bond, cooler than Bullitt."

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