:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(725x312:727x314)/Uma-Thurman-Pulp-Fiction-072125-b953e42da5c241a1a8b1eb2ed765ef0a.jpg?ssl=1 "Uma Thurman Says She Knew Pulp Fiction ‘Was Special’ Despite Small Budget")
NEED TO KNOW
- Uma Thurman is recounting how Pulp Fiction — the film in which she had her breakout role — initially was something of a “small” film
- The film — which premiered on Oct. 14, 1994 — was a low-budget indie that morphed into a cultural phenomenon
- In it, Thurman portrayed Mia Wallace, the failed TV actress and wife of crime lord Marsellus Wallace
Uma Thurman is reflecting on the success of her 1994 film Pulp Fiction — which was, when she signed on for the project, “a relatively small film.”
The film — which premiered on Oct. 14, 1994 — was a low-budget indie that morphed into a cultural phenomenon, winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and securing seven Oscar nominations — winning for Best Original Screenplay.
It also famously revived the careers of John Travolta and Bruce Willis, while skyrocketing the careers of Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson to new heights.
In an interview with the U.K.’s The Times, the 55-year-old actress said of the movie: “I knew it was special, you could tell from the writing, the uniqueness, but it was a relatively small film.”
Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty
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In the film, Thurman portrayed Mia Wallace — the failed TV actress and wife of crime lord Marsellus Wallace.
The film’s studio, Miramax, originally preferred Holly Hunter or Meg Ryan for the iconic role, but the film’s director, Quentin Tarantino, was sold on Thurman after their first meeting.
In 1995, Thurman earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mia and became an overnight A-list sensation in Hollywood, appearing in the big-budget Batman & Robin (1997) and British spy flick The Avengers (1998).
Thurman would go on to become a sort of muse for Tarantino, later starring in his Kill Bill film series, for which she received two Golden Globe nominations.
Thurman’s latest outing in the action genre entails playing the villain to Charlize Theron‘s hero Andy in the new film The Old Guard 2.
Speaking to The Times, Thurman said the muscle memory she gained on the set of Kill Bill came in handy for her new project, which she signed on to too late to do “proper training.”
“Fortunately I had put in hundreds of hours learning how to hold a sword,” she noted of the two Kill Bill films, for which she trained eight hours a day for three months. “You may not be limber and strong. But if your brain has learnt how to memorize sequences of movements, you can get back in that zone.”
