How Quentin Tarantino made his actors feel like a “tribe of freaks”
There isn’t much left to accomplish for Quentin Tarantino in the world of cinema. One of the most celebrated directors in the world, his unique vision for filmmaking has not only earned him critical acclaim but arguably secured his spot in the pantheon of Hollywood with only nine major motion pictures to his name. While he ponders his tenth and apparently final movie, it’s worth remembering that one of the surest ways he found his path to the top was through expert casting.
Perhaps one of the most dedicated directors to the art of casting, Tarantino has routinely noted that when he writes his scripts, he writes characters for specific actors. His ability to see the right performer for certain roles has seen John Travolta cast as Vincent Vega despite being incredibly out of fashion and also guaranteed Harvey Keitel and Uma Thurman a spot in a multitude of his impressive films.
Tarantino knows that a good cast is half of the battle, and that doesn’t just mean getting them to sing on the dotted line. As close to a Premier League coach as any director can be, Tarantino is noted for his unique ability to man-manage his cast, whether that is treating some of them with special treats, like giving Margot Robbie sneak peeks at original scripts, or more simply promoting a sense of unity.
Creating a movie is difficult. It is a constant struggle of scheduling, time management, and manipulation, and that’s without acknowledging the difficulty of shooting the thing. The only way to truly achieve this and enact the director’s vision is to have on board a cast that is confident in the text, in the direction, and, perhaps most notably, each other.
Tarantino worked hard to promote such a feeling on Pulp Fiction. The movie is regarded as one of the finest of the 1990s and arguably of Tarantino’s career. His ability to weave storylines and an impressive cast together sent shockwaves through the Hollywood elite. Eric Stoltz, who played Lance, remembered the unique way Tarantino would band them together: “The smart thing Quentin did is, we rehearsed, and he’d bring in the department heads to watch, and then we’d all go out to dinner.”
It’s a simple move that coaches and managers across the world have used, but the human connectivity felt by eating next to one another naturally breeds a sense of togetherness: “And we’d all go to sushi, and talk about it, and listen to Sam Jackson and John Travolta tell stories. And so, by the time we started shooting, we felt like a company. We felt like this little tribe of freaks. And it was a good feeling.”
However, to assume that the director, therefore, holds up all actors as the most vital part of his movies is to misunderstand the auteur. Tarantino’s devotion has always been to the narrative he crafted. While shots, style, music and personnel are all vital components, the direction of the story and how it grabs the audience he cherishes the most. It just so happens that the best way to do that is with a cast that is bound together as tightly as a gang, ready to pounce and devour the work at hand. Like any good director, he knows exactly how to achieve that.
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