In 1994, legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino delivered his second directorial film, “Pulp Fiction,” which was nothing less than a masterpiece. “Pulp Fiction” featured an ensemble cast, including Oscar-nominated actor John Travolta, who portrayed Vincent Vega in the film. Travolta played his role so neatly that today, when we look back, it’s hard to imagine someone else playing the part.
While some actors have to work hard to land a major movie role, it was easy for Travolta to land one in Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction.”
How did John Travolta ace the role in Quentin Tarantino’s 1944 movie ‘Pulp Fiction’?
Despite starring in several critically acclaimed movies like “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever,” John Travolta’s career saw a major setback when he starred in a string of critical and commercial flops, including Perfect, Moment by Moment, The Experts, Look Who’s Talking (and its sequel Look Who’s Talking Too), and Eyes of an Angel to name a few. But Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film “Pulp Fiction” came as a ray of hope in Travolta’s life as it revitalized his star power, leading to his appearances in “Get Shorty” and “Face/Off.”
Well, if the role was so crucial that it rose Travolta back to prominence, he must have toiled hard to ace it. This surely must have been the case if it was about some other actor, but not in the case of Travolta. All it took to get the role in the film was a small conversation about accounting and personal finances.
Recently, “Pulp Fiction” celebrated its 30th anniversary at the TCM Classic Film Festival. The event witnessed the reunion of the film’s star cast, including John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, and Harvey Keitel, who gathered to celebrate the film’s milestone anniversary. During the interview, Travolta shared the bizarre reason that became an entry pass to feature in Tarantino’s film. The actor recalled that he first met Tarantino after getting a call from his agent about a “young new director that’s directed “Reservoir Dogs,” and he’s desperate to meet you. You’re his favorite actor.”
As suggested by his agent, Travolta went to meet Tarantino and soon realized the director lived in the same apartment Travolta once lived in. After bonding over board games based on Travolta’s movies, the actor said he felt connected to Tarantino and said, “I need to know how he’s doing financially. You’re an up-and-coming artist. You have to have some reserve.”
Following this, they both spent hours combing through a young Tarantino’s finances to ensure he was monetarily set and able to continue working.
As the day passed, Tarantino presented Travolta with two scripts, “From Dusk Till Dawn” and “Pulp Fiction,” and asked the actor for his opinion. Travolta turned down “From Dusk Till Dawn,” stating, “I’m not a vampire person. I’m not a blood guy,” but said that “Pulp Fiction” was “much better.” A week later, Travolta was offered the role of Vincent Vega. Since no auditions, callbacks, screen tests, chemistry tests, etc., happened, the actor got curious and asked Tarantino why he was offered the role to him. To this, Tarantino replied by saying, “‘You had this philosophical viewpoint,’ he called it, ‘that I need for that character. I want him to be thoughtful about whatever he’s gone through.'”
Tarantino was indeed right with his selection, and the film was also a major critical and commercial success. “Pulp Fiction” is widely regarded as Tarantino’s magnum opus, with particular praise for its screenwriting.
The film is currently available to stream on Max.
