When talking about Pulp Fiction 30 years later, Bruce Willis’ performance is not something that immediately comes up in discussions. Willis’s character Butch was one of the more conventional characters in the film, which was filled with image-breaking performances. However, Willis’ stardom gave a significant boost to the film at the time of its making.
Interestingly, Willis was not a name that Quentin Tarantino ever had in mind for the role. It was Harvey Keitel, who played the role of Winston Wolfe, who introduced the Die Hard actor to Tarantino. At the time, Willis was one of the only A-listers among the cast.
Bruce Willis Played A Crucial Role In Pulp Fiction‘s Epic Success
Pulp Fiction was snubbed for the Oscars in favor of Forrest Gump 30 years ago. Fans were mindblown when Quentin Tarantino redefined cinema with an indie crime film that tells four intertwining tales in a non-linear fashion. Bruce Willis was added to the film as an old boxer, Butch, who was way past his glory days.
Willis’ role may not be the prime attraction of the film, but it was crucial for the film in a big way. At the time, Willis’ action role as John McClane in Die Hard made him into an international star. He was indeed one of the only A-listers in the film that was made on a budget of $8.5 million. Willis could’ve easily commanded that amount as his salary for a big-budget film.
However, Willis liked the script of the film and he believed in the visionary director Tarantino. He once said in Jason Bailey’s book about the film, Pulp Fiction: The Complete Story of Quentin Tarantino’s Masterpiece (via SlashFilm):
I said whatever you want me to do, I’ll do. I didn’t flex. How much I was paid wasn’t a consideration.
The Moonlighting actor’s involvement also brought all the major Hollywood eyes to the project. According to the book, distributors started queueing up for the international distribution rights for the project. Eventually, Miramax secured the deal for $11 million which was way past the budget. It should be noted that this deal happened before a single shot of the movie was filmed.
Willis essentially made Pulp Fiction a success even before it was filmed. The distribution deal covered the budget of the film. The film went on to gross $213.9 million, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of the ’90s (via Box Office Mojo).
Bruce Willis Was Never Considered For The Role Of Butch
Author Don Winslow shared a rough cast list that Quentin Tarantino initially considered for each role in Pulp Fiction on his X account (via The Independent). According to the list, Bruce Willis was never considered for the role of Butch in the film. Tarantino initially wrote it as a young boxer and had Matt Dillon in mind to play the role.
The list also included Sean Penn, Nicolas Cage, Aidan Quinn, and Johnny Depp. According to the site, At The Right Movies, when Tarantino decided to rewrite the role of an old boxer, he approached Mickey Rourke to play the role, who passed on the opportunity. According to a Variety article that included the BTS details from the film, Tim Roth was also interested in the role before he was cast as Ringo/Pumpkin.
Pulp Fiction is now available for streaming on Paramount+ and Prime Video.
