Uma Thurman recently reflected on her breakout role in Pulp Fiction, revealing that while she recognized the film’s uniqueness early on, she never imagined it would leave such a lasting cultural mark.
Speaking to The Times U.K. in a new interview, the Oscar-nominated actress looked back on her decades-long career and her latest project, The Old Guard 2, which premiered July 2 on Netflix.
Thurman, now known for her portrayal of the enigmatic Mia Wallace, shared that the 1994 film felt “special” from the start.
“I knew it was special, you could tell from the writing, the uniqueness,” she recalled. But at the same time, she noted it was still just “a relatively small film”, one that didn’t hint at the iconic status it would eventually achieve.
The Quentin Tarantino-directed movie went on to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes and earned seven Academy Award nominations, including a Best Supporting Actress nod for Thurman herself.
However, her journey to the role wasn’t as straightforward as it seems today.
In previous interviews, she shared that she initially had doubts about accepting the part, which had also been considered for stars like Michelle Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan, Holly Hunter, and Rosanna Arquette.
“He wasn’t this revered demigod auteur that he has grown into,” Thurman said of Tarantino, reflecting on her hesitations at the time.
She added that she had just experienced a low point in her career following the box office disappointment of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. What gave her pause, she admitted, was the edgier content of the script.
“And I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it because I was worried about the gimp stuff,” she explained. “No one could believe I even hesitated in any way. Neither can I, in hindsight.”
Despite the initial uncertainty, Pulp Fiction went on to become a defining moment in both Thurman’s career and modern cinema.
The film, which centers on two hitmen and the intertwining stories of various underworld characters in Los Angeles, featured a star-studded cast including Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Christopher Walken, and Harvey Keitel.