Mr. Blonde, also known as Vic Vega, played by Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs, was the brother of Vince Vega. A spin-off telling the prequel story of the two films was in development but was later shelved because both actors were too old to play their younger selves.
Uma Thurman initially turned down the role of Mia Wallace. Tarantino insisted, read the script to her over the phone and eventually convinced her.
Tarantino wrote the character of Winston Wolfe specifically for Harvey Keitel.
Tarantino wrote the character of Jules specifically for Samuel L. Jackson, but the role was nearly given to Paul Calderon.
The Honey Bunny and Pumpkin segments were written specifically for Amanda Plummer and Tim Roth, who played the two characters.
Butch's role was initially supposed to be a promising boxer. Matt Dillon held talks to play the role but did not commit. Tarantino then changed the role and offered it to Bruce Willis, who was disappointed that he had not signed on to play Vincent.
Angela Jones, who played the taxi driver Esmarelda, appeared in a thirty-minute short film called Curcled, in which she played a character who cleans up after murders. Tarantino saw that film and decided to include the character in this film as a taxi driver.
Mickey Rourke passed on the role of Butch to continue his boxing career and also claimed he did not understand the script. He later regretted that decision.
Daniel Day-Lewis wanted the role of Vincent Vega, but Tarantino turned him down.
Pam Grier auditioned for the role of Lance's wife Jody. She gave a great audition, but Tarantino decided not to cast her because he could not imagine Grier being pushed around the way the character is.
Samuel L. Jackson had previously auditioned for Reservoir Dogs. From that point on, he appeared in some capacity in most of Tarantino's films.
Pulp Fiction was the comeback role for both John Travolta and Bruce Willis. Both had begun to be regarded as actors who were no longer as popular as they once were, and this film made them shine again.
James Gandolfini was considered for the role of Vincent Vega.
In 2014, Harvey Keitel, who played The Wolf, reprised the role of Winston Wolfe in a series of commercials for the UK insurance company Direct Line.
Honey Bunny took her name from a real rabbit belonging to Linda Chen, who typed Tarantino's handwritten script. She asked Tarantino to look after her rabbit when she went to the location. Tarantino did not do so, and when the rabbit later died, he gave Amanda Plummer's character Linda Chen's pet name.
Rosanna Arquette also auditioned for Mia, and was offered Jody instead. Uma Thurman was briefly considered for Honey Bunny.
Tarantino offered John Travolta the choice of appearing in From Dusk Till Dawn or Pulp Fiction. He chose Pulp Fiction for his career.
Isabella Rossellini, Meg Ryan, Daryl Hannah, Joan Cusack and Michelle Pfeiffer did test roles for Mia Wallace.
Of the 54 cast members, 50 were actors in the recognized category.
The role of Lance was written for John Cusack, but after he passed on it, Eric Stoltz, the second choice for the role, was cast.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus turned down the role of Mia Wallace due to her commitment to Seinfeld.
The only scenes for which Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson were nominated for an Oscar were from this film.
Sylvester Stallone was briefly considered for the role of Butch.
The house used as the home of Jimmie Dimmick (Quentin Tarantino) belonged to a press agent named Jack Mullen, who died in 1972. His son Mike Mullen, who still owned the house, was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The July 30, 2007 issue of the Los Angeles Times carried an article about this titled "A story line worthy of Hollywood."
Tarantino actually wanted Christopher Jones for the role of Zed.
John Travolta said that Vincent Vega's look, with long hair and a cigarette, was his idea. Tarantino initially wanted Travolta to play Vega with more or less his normal appearance, but approved once Travolta's thoughts about the character were told to him.
It was Chandler Lindauer's only film appearance to date. He played young Butch.
The film's producer, one of the long-haired scumbags in the coffee shop, is Lawrence Bender.
Tarantino hesitated between the characters Jimmie and Lance, one of which he would play. The first plan was for Tarantino to take one character and Eric Stoltz the other. Although Tarantino initially intended for Jeff Goldblum, Steve Buscemi and Bill Paxton to play Jimmie, none of his options were available and only Stoltz could do the shoot. In the end he chose the role of Jimmie because the deadline was closing in and he wanted to focus on directing Mia's overdose scene.
According to Samuel L. Jackson's manager, Tarantino initially wanted Max Julien to play Marsellus Wallace, but Julien turned down the role, objecting to the rape scene.
Dick Miller filmed a short scene playing Monster Joe, the owner of the junkyard where The Wolf disposes of the bloody car. However, Miller's scene was cut from the film and can be found on the DVD.
Harvey Keitel also played a cleaner in the film Point of No Return.
According to leaked documents, the casting lists for several characters were as follows:
Pumpkin: Tim Roth, Johnny Depp, Christian Slater, Gary Oldman, Nicolas Cage, Eric Stoltz and John Cusack.
Honey Bunny: Amanda Plummer, Patricia Arquette, Lili Taylor, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bridget Fonda, Phoebe Cates and Marisa Tomei.
Vincent Vega: Michael Madsen, John Travolta, Alec Baldwin, Gary Oldman, William Petersen, Jason Patric, Andy Garcia, Michael Keaton, Denzel Washington, Sean Penn, Tim Roth, Dennis Quaid, Robert Carradine and Aidan Quinn.
Jules: Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Charles S. Dutton and Michael Beach.
Butch: Matt Dillon, Sean Penn, Nicolas Cage, Aidan Quinn and Johnny Depp.
Fabienne: Irène Jacob, Maria de Medeiros, Julie Delpy, Elina Löwensohn and Emmanuelle Béart.
Winston Wolf: Harvey Keitel, Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Danny DeVito, Samuel L. Jackson, Alec Baldwin, Michael Keaton, John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Michael Parks and Charles S. Dutton.
Lance: John Cusack, Eric Stoltz, Michael Keaton, Christian Slater, Gary Oldman, Robert Carradine, Bill Paxton, Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson and Eric Roberts.
Jody: Patricia Arquette, Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Beals, Pam Grier, N'bushe Wright, Kathy Griffin, Angel Aviles, Sofia Coppola, jasmine Guy, Tyra Ferrell, Lili Taylor and Jennifer Jason Leigh.