While the 1994 film Pulp Fiction became a mainstream breakthrough hit for Quentin Tarantino, the director reveals he resisted studio pressure to cast superstar Johnny Depp.
On a recent episode of the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast (via NME), Tarantino shared stories about the difficult casting process for Pulp Fiction. He recalled having a huge list of names for actors he wanted to potentially be part of his movie. "I wanted to get them all pre-approved and I didn’t know if it was gonna work out or if I would vibe with the person or if they would even do a good job," the director said. Supposedly, after producer Mike Medavoy saw the list of names, he insisted that Johnny Depp should play the role of Pumpkin, who appears in the diner robbery comprising the first and last scenes of Pulp Fiction. However, Depp was Tarantino's third choice for that role, placing him behind Tim Roth and Christian Slater, which created some clashes.
Pulp Fiction's Early Casting Issues
According to Tarantino, Medavoy wanted Depp to play the role because he had the most star power out of the three actors. But Tarantino continued to push back, pointing out that Pumpkin only appeared in a few scenes of the movie. "Do you think that will add that much to the box office? Him playing that role?," he asked. According to the director, Medavoy responded, "It won't add a dime, but it would make me feel better." Eventually, Medavoy ended up passing on Pulp Fiction and Tarantino was able to cast Roth, who he previously worked with on Reservoir Dogs, in the role.
While Tarantino and Depp have never worked together on a movie, both have had extremely successful careers in Hollywood. Depp has been known to fully transform into characters, playing iconic roles in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Alice in Wonderland. Meanwhile, Tarantino has become one of the most successful auteurs in Hollywood by directing hits such as Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds and Django: Unchained. While he spent the past few years under the shadow of notoriety over accusations of abuse from ex-wife Amber Heard, the protracted personal drama recently turned in his favor by way of winning a $50 million defamation lawsuit -- albeit one that Heard plans to appeal.
Recently dipping his toes into the world of film criticism before he makes his tenth, supposedly final movie, Tarantino has claimed we are living in one of the worst eras of cinema. He has joined a slew of directors who have been heavily critical of Marvel movies. He argued that while movie stars such as Depp or Tom Cruise used to get people in theater seats, superheroes have led to the extinction of headliners' box office draw. "Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is... you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters. But they're not movie stars. Right?," Tarantino said. Indeed, he observed that Captain America and Thor are the stars of modern movies, not so much the actual actors playing them.
Pulp Fiction is available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast via NME