Quentin Tarantino’s films have attracted some big stars over the years from Samuel L Jackson to Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. However, did you know that Johnny Depp could have ended up in one of them? This was back in his independent movie days long before Captain Jack Sparrow was even considered.
The film in question was Tarantino’s second film as a director, 1994’s Pulp Fiction. The crime thriller stars Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, and Uma Thurman in what is considered one of the greatest films ever made.
After writing the Oscar-winning screenplay, the director set out to write a large list of names that could potentially play major roles in the film.
Speaking with the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast, the 59-year-old said, “There’s something floating around on the internet about my wish list for Pulp Fiction actors, it’s kind of floating and it’s not. It’s not like that, not really. I didn’t know exactly who I want to play this part or that part, so I wrote a huge list with a lot of names in. I wanted to pre-approve them all for sure and didn’t know if it would work, if I wanted to get a vibe with the person or if they would Good job but I wanted to get approved… kind of everywhere but that was kind of the idea, I wanted to be able to explore it and go all over but then I’m also really stubborn.” And this is where Depp came in.
Depp was in Tarantino’s roster the third choice to play Pumpkin, Tim Roth’s character from the film’s opening and closing scenes. A future Pirates star was also considered for Lance, a role that would go to original Marty McFly actor Eric Stoltz.
Now, when the director submitted his list to the studio, they wanted to know why Depp was in third place behind Ruth, one of the stars of Reservoir Dogs. Indeed, they told him that they would not offer the part to the latter until three others had first refused it. But the director is back.
Read more: Johnny Depp – Jack Sparrow star’s relationship with Queen Elizabeth II
Tarantino asked them: “Do you think Johnny Depp plays the Pumpkin in this movie, which is the opening scene and the closing scene, do you think that will add a lot to the box office?”
It turns out they didn’t, but at the time many studios thought having a big star would help the movie even if critics panned it. Of course, in the end, Pulp Fiction didn’t need a future Captain Jack star after all.
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