The Actor
Mace Windu is a character in the Star Wars series of films who is played by Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson, whose lightsaber is purple by special request, is reported also to have got "B.M.F." (Bad MotherFucker) engraved into its handle as this was written on Jules' wallet in Pulp Fiction.
The Character
A Jedi Master whose skills are apparently comparable with those of Yoda, Mace Windu is a senior member of the Jedi High Council, the body which contemplates the nature of the Force and decides what the Jedi Knights will do.
Appearing for the first time in The Phantom Menace, set during the last days of the Republic, Windu spends most of his time on Coruscant conferring with the ten other Council members in the Jedi Temple. Because of his research into Jedi philosophy and history, Windu is highly respected and his wisdom and experience are legendary.
In The Phantom Menace, Jedi Master Qui-Gonn Jinn, a proponent of the Living Force, approached the Council claiming to have found a candidate who might be the prophesised chosen one destined to return balance to the Force. Windu, the Council member with most knowledge of the prophecy, was hesitant although he eventually agreed that the child, Anakin Skywalker, should be tested for Jedi potential.
When the test was carried out, Anakin had the highest midi-chlorian count ever determined and demonstrated great potential. Windu, however, convinced the Council that he should not to be trained since he had passed the age limit.
When Qui-Gonn was killed by Darth Maul in Episode I, he asked his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi to train Anakin Skywalker. The Council rescinded their original decision, and granted their permission for this, giving Obi-Wan the position of Jedi Knight at the same time.
Windu, himself a diplomat, believed in the power of words over action, but as the galaxy found itself increasingly fragmented by the secessionist movement led by Count Dooku, a former Jedi, he realized that the time for negotiation had passed. Windu is betrayed and killed by Anakin in Episode III.