Tarantino Turned Down Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn, and William Hurt for This Movie Role

After Tarantino made Reservoir Dogs, people wanted to work with him. He had Pulp Fictionset up at Miramax, and they were deep into casting. But the character they kept bumping on was Vincent.

It seems like everyone had their own vision of who should take on the role of the hitman and world traveler. Tarantino wanted John Travolta, but the studio floated Daniel Day-Lewis, William Hurt, and Sean Penn. And basically promised to deliver all of them if he wanted one. 

As you know, Tarantino got his way and reignited Travolta's career.

But that's not the only role that had a lot of names listed around it. There was also Pam Grier As Jody, Danny DeVito as The Wolf, Laurence Fishburne as Jules Winnfield, John Cusack as Lance, Meg Ryan as Mia Wallace, Matt Dillon as Butch Coolidge, and even Michael Madsen as Vincent Vega. 

Mickey Rourke told the Daily Mail, “Quentin Tarantino called once—I think it was for Pulp Fiction, the part Bruce Willis played. I didn’t even read the script. I allowed myself to get proud and angry because I could do the acting. I thought I’d have to be dead not to f***ing work.”

Like any large and hot screenplay, the casting lists were very long and detailed based on who was hot at the time and who was available. Still, it's hard to think about the movie with anyone different in any role. 

What's your favorite alternative cast scenario? Let us know your fan cast in the comments.