Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Quentin Tarantino is one of the most influential directors of all time — so it goes without saying that many actors would love to be in one of his movies. These, however, are the stars who passed up that golden opportunity.
Michael Madsen and Tarantino first met when the actor auditioned for the role of Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs. According to Madsen, after doing his best to land the gig, Tarantino responded:
“You’re not Mr. Pink. You’re Mr. Blonde — and if you’re not Mr. Blonde, then you’re not in the movie.”
Madsen made the wise decision and forever scarred moviegoers with his straight razor and can of gasoline. And he evidently impressed Tarantino, since the auteur wanted Madsen to play Pulp Fiction’s dancing hitman Vincent Vega.
Unfortunately for Madsen, he’d already signed on to play Virgil Earp in Wyatt Earp, a western starring Kevin Costner as the titular lawman. According to The Daily Beast, it took a long time for Tarantino to forgive Madsen for turning down Vincent Vega. Madsen probably regretted his choice as well, since Pulp Fiction is widely hailed as one of the greatest movies all time. Of course, it was probably for the best. After all, in hindsight, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than John Travolta playing the smarmy hitman — plus, if we’d seen Michael Madsen dancing again, we probably would’ve suffered from some pretty traumatizing flashbacks.
Watch the video to see more actors who refused to be in Quentin Tarantino movies!
#QuentinTarantino #PulpFiction #ReservoirDogs
Michael Madsen | 0:15
Warren Beatty | 1:27
Sylvester Stallone | 2:42
Adam Sandler | 4:23
Will Smith | 5:57
Sacha Baron Cohen | 7:23
Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell | 9:03
Viggo Mortensen | 10:17
Jennifer Lawrence | 11:40