‘Pulp Fiction’ and the greatest burger audition of all time: “I was scared shitless”
There’s no denying the legacy that Pulp Fiction has amassed since it was released in 1994. Sure, Quentin Tarantino’s movie might have become a film student cliché – and its posters are probably keeping HMV in business – but Pulp Fiction has had an undeniable impact on cinema.
Made on a budget of $8million, the film made several hundred million dollars in return, proving that Tarantino knew the secret to squeezing every ounce out of his pennies to get the best results. With its whip-cracking humour and stylised aesthetic full of swift editing and exhilarating musical choices like the surf rock cut ‘Misirlou’, the film didn’t take long to reach an audience enamoured by Tarantino’s idiosyncratic approach to cinema. It seemed effortlessly cool, making you want to live in this dangerous world of slick criminals and bizarre individuals.
Not only did the movie give John Travolta a well-needed career revival, but it also helped Samuel L Jackson’s star profile to rise thanks to his quotable performance as Jules Winnfield, the burger-eating, suit-clad hitman.
Interestingly, it was actually Jackson’s decision to grab some fast food before his Pulp Fiction audition that resulted in the iconic burger-eating scene. “This IS a tasty burger,” Jules says as he takes a bite from Brett’s meal while intimidating him, slurping up his drink as he asserts his dominance in the apartment. By taking his food from his hands, Tarantino demonstrates how powerful Jules really is in this moment, foreshadowing his imminent decision to take Brett’s life away from him, too.
The Big Kahuna burger scene is one of the most memorable in the film, but it might not have made it into the final cut if not for Tarantino and producers Richard Gladstein and Lawrence Bender being on the receiving end of Jackson’s anger during his audition. It was their own fear that inspired the inclusion of burger-based intimidation, although you can hardly blame Jackson for being annoyed by the circumstances.
You see, Jackson was told that he had got the part after his first audition, which wasn’t even much of an audition because Tarantino was already convinced he was the perfect man for the job. Yet, Tarantino then asked Paul Calderon to read for the part, and “All of a sudden Sam’s job was not so damned secure,” the director told Vanity Fair.
With the need to now battle it out to get the role, Jackson wasn’t best pleased. Why was his part in the film suddenly up in the air? The actor showed up to audition again, grabbing a burger to sort out his hunger. Yet, once he got to the audition, his mood went from bad to worse. “I sort of was angry, pissed, tired. When they came back, a line producer or somebody who was with them said, ‘I love your work, Mr. [Laurence] Fishburne.’ It was like a slow burn. He doesn’t know who I am? I was kind of like, Fuck it. At that point, I really didn’t care.”
With a burger in hand, Jackson delivered an impassioned performance – extra annoyed that, to top it all off, Tarantino had arrived late. He won the part straight away; there was no one else who could play Jules. Gladstein revealed, “Me and Quentin and Lawrence were sitting on the couch, and he walked in and just started sipping that shake and biting that burger and looking at all of us. I was scared shitless. I thought that this guy was going to shoot a gun right through my head. His eyes were popping out of his head. And he just stole the part.”
That’s one way to land a role. Perhaps acting is the only industry when you can show up for a potential job with greasy food in your hands and a stinking attitude and actually emerge successful.
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