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Actors Samuel L Jackson and Danny Glover are among four people who will receive honorary Oscars next year for their contributions to filmmaking and the world, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Thursday.

The pair are among the next recipients of the academy's Governors Awards, which will be handed out in a ceremony in January. Other honourees are writer-director Elaine May and Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann.

The recipients "have had a profound impact on both film and society," Academy President David Rubin said in a statement.

Jackson, who portrayed Nick Fury in the Avengers and other Marvel movies, has appeared in more than 100 films. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a hit man in director Quentin Tarantino's 1994 drama Pulp Fiction.

Ullmann was a frequent collaborator with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. She appeared in Persona, The Passion of Anna, Cries and Whispers and other Bergman films. Ullman was nominated for best actress for 1971 film The Emigrants and 1976 movie Face to Face.

May received Oscar nominations for best adapted screenplay for 1978's Heaven Can Wait and 1999's Primary Colours. Earlier in her career, she was part of the comedy duo Nichols and May, which debuted in 1958, with Mike Nichols.

Glover, star of the Lethal Weapon movies, will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his advocacy for justice and human rights. He currently serves as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.