Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction had one of the most memorable duos in Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), but the pair could have been very different had everything gone as originally planned. Tarantino’s filmmaking career as the world now knows it began in 1992 with the crime film Reservoir Dogs, but his big break arrived two years later with another crime film: Pulp Fiction.
Regarded as Tarantino’s masterpiece, Pulp Fiction tells several interconnected stories in a non-linear style, which earned him the praise of critics and viewers. Many characters, moments, and lines from Pulp Fiction are now part of pop culture, and it’s hard to imagine any other actors playing characters like Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman), Vincent Vega, and Jules Winnfield. As it happens in all films, the now iconic cast of Pulp Fiction wasn’t always the one the world now knows, and the unforgettable hitmen Vincent and Jules could have been way different.
Because Pulp Fiction was Tarantino’s second film, he was just starting to build his list of go-to actors, and while the film included some familiar faces from Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction could have had even more connections to its predecessor through Vincent and Jules, and they could have been got a very different backstory.
Pulp Fiction: Every Actor Who Almost Played Jules & Vincent
Tarantino’s first option for Vincent Vega was Michael Madsen, who played Mr. Blonde/Vic Vega in Reservoir Dogs, but Madsen chose to appear in Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp instead. Harvey Weinstein pushed for Daniel Day-Lewis in the part, but in the end, John Travolta took the role, which helped revitalize his career and got him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. As for Jules Winnfield, Tarantino wrote the character with Samuel L. Jackson in mind, but as Jackson assumed that the audition was merely a reading, he was overshadowed by Paul Calderón. Jackson was convinced to audition one more time and got the role. Calderón, on the other hand, appeared instead as the bartender at Marsellus’ club.
At some point in the development of Pulp Fiction, Tarantino had other very different ideas for Vincent and Jules. He contemplated having Tim Roth as Vincent and Gary Oldman as Jules, rewriting the roles as “two English guys”. Thankfully, that idea was left behind, and Roth still appeared in the film as Ringo/Pumpkin. Oldman didn’t appear in the film at all, but he was also considered for the role of Lance, Vincent’s drug dealer, which ultimately went to Eric Stoltz. It’s hard to say of any of these options would been a better Vincent and Jules than Travolta and Jackson, but in the end, these changes made way for the Vega brothers, brought Travolta’s career back to life, and left audiences with one of the best duos in cinema.
Next: Theory: Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction Take Place On The SAME Day
