John Travolta Reveals the Interesting Condition That Led Him to Star in 'Pulp Fiction'

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Looking back, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction besides John Travolta. But, right as the movie turns 30, the actor admitted he wasn’t necessarily Quentin Tarantino‘s first choice for the role.

Talking to People at the movie’s anniversary party last night, Travolta said his first collaboration with the Oscar-winning director happened somewhat by chance.

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“I never had preconceived ideas of actually what I needed or should have, but [Pulp Fiction] kind of found me more than I found it because Quentin was such a die-hard fan of mine that he had this fantasy of working with me in something,” Travolta told the outlet.

So while the two wanted to work together, the project itself was less defined. “It wasn’t necessarily Pulp Fiction. It could have been anything,” he said. “And then, it suddenly found its way into that movie. After a couple of meetings when he said, ‘Maybe I won’t go this way. Maybe I’ll go the Travolta way.’ Because he had talked about [From]Dusk Till [Dawn].”

The 1996 horror film, however, which ended up starring George Clooney, wasn’t Travolta’s cup of tea. “And I wasn’t interested in vampires really,” Travolta said. “So he said, ‘Okay, well, you like the other idea?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I do.’ And it all evolved.”

PULP FICTION, John Travolta, 1994
PULP FICTION, John Travolta, 1994

Upon embarking on the Pulp Fiction journey alongside Tarantino, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis, Travolta never expected how big the movie became.

“It was epic and it evolved,” the Grease star said. “The audiences made this movie what it was, and it wasn’t overnight.”

“It took about a year of evolution,” he explained. “In those days, movies stayed in the theaters for a year. So, by the end of the year of it being, it was planetarily epic.”

Ella Bleu Travolta and John Travolta at the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival Opening Night screening of "Pulp Fiction" held at TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX on April 18, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
Ella Bleu Travolta and John Travolta at the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival Opening Night screening of “Pulp Fiction” held at TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX on April 18, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

During yesterday’s screening and panel discussion, Travolta was joined by his 24-year-old daughter Ella Travolta.

On the carpet, Travolta wore dark denim jeans, a white button-down paired with a black sweater and a matching blazer on top. Bringing in some color, Ella wore a printed brown and cream dress paired elegantly with black pointed heels. A father-daughter date for the books!

Before you go, click here to see celebrity kids who are all grown up.

Kaia Gerber and Presley Gerber
Kaia Gerber and Presley Gerber

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