The Pulp Fiction Original Cast Wish List Has Been Revealed, and Uma Thurman Isn’t on It
“I don’t know why I came here tonight.” — Uma Thurman at her audition
Quentin Tarantino’s original casting wish list forPulp Fiction has surfaced on Reddit, and it may have been a very different movie if the director had gotten everything he wanted.
According to the list (which has not been verified by anyone involved in the production) Reservoir Dogs star Michael Madsen was Tarantino’s first choice for Vincent; the role famously went to John Travolta, who was the director’s “strong, strong, strong second choice.”
But Uma Thurman, whose portrayal of Mia catapulted her to international fame and earned her both an Oscar and a Golden Globe nomination, didn’t even make the shortlist. According to the document, Tarantino’s first choice for Mia appears to have been Virginia Madsen (Sideways), with Debra Winger, Angela Bassett, Marisa Tomei, and Patricia Arquette also on the list. Apparently Tarantino was more than satisfied with Mia’s eventual casting, as he went on to work with Thurman on the very successful Kill Bill series.
The parallel-universe version of Pulp Fiction finds John Cusack as Lance (who was played by Tarantino’s second choice, Eric Stolz); and Patricia Arquette in the role of Jody, which went to her sister Rosanna Arquette. Like Thurman, Bruce Willis didn’t make the original list for Butch, but Matt Damon, Sean Penn, Nicholas Cage and Johnny Depp did.
Tarantino got exactly what he wanted with Tim Roth as Pumpkin and Amanda Plummer as Honey Bunney. Nevertheless, I think we can all agree that all’s well that ended well with the Pulp Fiction cast that made it to the screen.
Check out the complete list on Indiewire.
Photos by Everett Collection
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