Samuel Jackson has disclosed how he ended up starring in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in 1994 after he didn’t get an opportunity to be cast in his film Reservoir Dogs. Recounting his first meeting with the director, he said they met during the auditions for “Reservoir Dogs”.
According to him, he was expecting to audition with Harvey Keitel and Tim Roth but he ended up reading with Tarantino and producer Lawrence Bender, as reported by SiriusXM.
“I was supposed to audition with Harvey Keitel and Tim Roth, but these two guys showed up. I was like, ‘Who the hell are these guys?’ Plus, they were awful,” he explained.
Speaking during a recent interview with Jess Cagle and Julia Cunningham on The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM Stars, he said as a result of the development, he left the audition after admitting his initial impression of the duo playing their roles awfully.
“Oh, I know I’m not getting this job. These dudes sucked. Who the f*** was that?’ I had no idea who they were,” he added.
Jackson noted that he later met Tarantino at the Sundance Film Festival when the 1992 “Reservoir Dogs” was screened.
“I think he knew we were connected when I saw him at Sundance after he didn’t cast me in his first movie,” Jackson recalled to People, referring to 1992’s Reservoir Dogs. “I was sitting there in the audience and I’d auditioned, and I went up to him and I said, ‘Hey, man. I really love the movie.’ He said, ‘Oh, how’d you like how he got your part?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, so you do remember who I am.’ “
“So I told him, ‘Well, your movie would be better with me in it, but what can I say?’ And he said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m sending you something.’ And that was it. And we took off from there.”
Tarantino ended up casting Jackson as Jules Winnfield in 1994’s cult classic Pulp Fiction. The 75-year-old actor also worked on six more of the director’s films, including Jackie Brown and The Hateful Eight.
Last Thursday, Jackson and other stars including Harvey Keitel, Uma Thurman and John Travolta met at the 30th-anniversary presentation of Pulp Fiction at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.
“It’s great to know that someone who writes that well and who makes films that well or who has a cinematic love for what we do trusts me with his material,” Jackson said about Tarantino at the event. “And it makes me want to give him more and work harder for him,” he said. “And I think I’ve become a better actor for it, and I think he’s a better filmmaker for our collaborations.”
