Quentin Tarantino Fought Against Johnny Depp Being Cast In Classic Movie
Quentin Tarantino is one of Hollywood’s most prominent writers, directors, and filmmakers, and Johnny Depp has a name in the acting world that rivals it. It stands to reason that two names of that caliber would eventually cross as they work together and make one of the biggest movies of all time, but to everyone’s surprise, the two icons have never worked together. However, that almost wasn’t the case as the legendary director revealed he fought against casting the Sleepy Hollow actor in his first smash cult classic, Pulp Fiction, according to NME.
According to Quentin Tarantino, Johnny Depp was on a list of actors that had been floating around that seemed to be a wish list of actors he wanted to work with. The director confessed on the podcast 2 Bears 1 Cave that he compiled a list of actors that he tried to get preapproved by the studio, but Depp ended up being someone Tarantino campaigned against. The writer of Pulp Fiction wanted Marvel Cinematic Universe villain Tim Roth as Pumpkin and reasoned that the role was small enough that Depp’s name wouldn’t do much for the box office.
Quentin Tarantino and Johnny Depp may not have been destined to work together on the cult classic, but that didn’t hurt the cast list that included John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Rosanna Arquette. Tim Roth is no stranger to working with Tarantino as he portrayed Freddy Newendyke, AKA Mr. Orange, in Reservoir Dogs and spent the entire film bleeding out from a shot to the stomach. He also appeared in a more recent Tarantino project when he portrayed the antagonist, Pete Hicox, in Tarantino’s film, The Hateful Eight.
Not landing the role of Pumpkin in Quentin Tarantino’s film didn’t do a lot to hurt or hold back Johnny Depp from becoming one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood. While he has a bevy of projects under his belt with another prolific director in Tim Burton, he became a blockbuster superstar with his role as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. While he has enjoyed a long career, he is more known today for his controversy with his ex-wife Amber Heard over the last six years.
Quentin Tarantino may be precisely what Johnny Depp needs to revitalize a career now that he is on the other side of a long and dreadful court process. Following his $15 million win against Amber Heard in the closely followed defamation case that exposed the other side of the #MeToo movement, he finds himself looking for what is next.
With Quentin Tarantino coming under fire for his comments about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and his impending retirement from directing, a team-up with Johnny Depp may be a partnership made in revitalization heaven. Tarantino’s next project is a comic adaptation of a continuation of his film Django Unchained, Django/Zorro, in which he is hoping to get Jamie Foxx to return to his Django role and Antonio Banderas as his former Zorro role. Depp’s next project is as Louis XV in Jeanne du Barry.
