Pulp Fiction is an original film in several ways. The film changed the way non-linear, dramatic crime stories were presented on screen, and brilliantly revived the career of an American matinee idol whose star was beginning to fade. John Travolta burst onto the entertainment scene in the 1970s with his role on TV’s “Welcome Home, Kotter.” He then cemented his place in Saturday Night Fever, the decade-defining youth dance drama. The actor appeared consistently in notable films like Staying Alive and Look Who’s Talking throughout the ’80s, but he’s already transformed from an A-list phenomenon into a solid, versatile character actor. was. It was Quentin Tarantino’s groundbreaking 1994 film that launched Travolta into a new life in Hollywood. Tarantino cast him in the role of drug-addicted hitman Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction. Thirty years after the film was released, Travolta talks about how he researched his heroin-using character and how he delivered a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture. We talked about it many times.
John Travolta is very open about researching drug use in ‘Pulp Fiction’
Aside from his generous acting skills, one of Tavolta’s most appealing qualities is his candor in interviews. During a roundtable discussion on YouTube’s Build Series in 2016, the Tinseltown legend opened up about how he researched the role that revitalized his career. Specifically, we delved into research to flesh out Vincent Vega’s personality and drug use. This long-haired assassin has a very specific way of carrying himself, based on sources who told him he was a heroin addict.
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“Why do we feel like we need to do shitty things to feel comfortable?”
Travolta acknowledged that Tarantino set up meetings with so-called “chippers,” weekend recreational users whose lives had not been completely derailed by addiction. But for Travolta, it was just a starting point. He wanted to know more about what it’s really like to be a regular user, the euphoric high that comes with hardcore addiction and the resulting dope-like lows. . So he sought out recovered addicts to find out how his character would and should act if he were living with a daily battle with heroin. Travolta’s extensive research is commendable, and the steps he took to speak to someone who would better understand the situation of the character are testament to his dedication to the role, which shows in his performance. Masu.
Travolta wanted to get as close to the heroin high in Pulp Fiction as possible
Image via Miramax
Not content with limited research with “chippers,” Travolta insisted on talking to full-fledged addicts who have successfully recovered, so he learned what it feels like to reach an addictive high on heroin. I learned something. He took “a lot” of notes and was keen to understand the difference between “good” and “bad”. The anonymous user gave an answer that you would probably never guess, and even Travolta was surprised.
Travolta said a recovered heroin addict told him that to understand the allure and physical euphoria of a heroin high, he needed to “slather on a shot of tequila and lie in a pool of warm water.” The actor went on to qualify this comparison by saying, “And when you’re using heroin, you’re going to hit rock bottom, which is how you start to feel.” So Travolta did just that. He combined his experiences and notes collected from both research subjects to create the unforgettable character of Vincent Vega. It’s refreshing to hear the Grease actor speak candidly about his process, and it allows the audience to understand his process. And because of that research, looking back at Travolta’s performance, he was able to accurately portray a drug addict.
Pulp Fiction is available to stream on Prime Video in the US
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and two diner robbers intertwine in four stories of violence and redemption.
Release date: September 10, 1994
Runtime 154
Main genre crime
Studio Miramax Films
From the creators of the tagline True Romance and Reservoir Dogs
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watch on prime video
