See Quentin Tarantino’s original ‘Pulp Fiction’ cast list
The original cast list Quentin Tarantino drafted for his 1994 cult classic Pulp Fiction has resurfaced, and it lists the eventual star John Travolta as a “strong, strong, strong, second choice”.
Pulp Fiction, often considered to be Tarantino’s magnum opus, featured a star-studded cast including Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and more. But not all of the finalised cast were Tarantino’s first choices, as revealed by his original cast list.
The list ranks actors by star ratings, with a code explaining the rankings. Three stars indicate Tarantino’s first choice. His second choices receive two stars, while just one star means an actor has a “strong possibility”.
The list reveals that Tarantino’s original choice for Travolta’s starring role as Vincent Vega was actually Michael Madsen. The list even states, “Wrote part for Michael”. Travolta is listed under Madsen as his second choice. Other potential backups include Alec Baldwin, Michael Keaton and Denzel Washington.
The list for Mia Wallace’s character is a lengthy one, featuring Maria Tomei, Patricia Arquette and Bridgit Fonda, among others. But Uma Thurman’s name is noticeably absent.
Samuel L. Jackson is listed as Tarantino’s second choice for his part as Jules Winnfield. Tarantino notes down that he wrote the part for Larry Fishburn. However, Jackson was Tarantino’s first choice to play Marcellus Wallace, tied with Ving Rhames, who eventually won the part.
Tarantino also notes that he wrote the part of Butch for Matt Dillon, but he turned it down. His backups include Sean Penn and Nick Cage, but the part was eventually taken on by Bruce Willis.
Other interesting choices from the list include Sofia Coppola, Danny DeVito and Julie Delpy. Check out Tarantino’s full original cast list for Pulp Fiction below.
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