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Quentin Tarantino is one of the most celebrated directors of his generation, but his impact as a screenwriter who perfected punchy, pop-culture obsessed monologues cannot be overstated. To deliver his memorable dialogue, Tarantino has developed countless characters with unique personalities and quirks, often remixing the big screen heroes of his youth. Whether nodding to Stanley Kubrick’s “The Killing” with “Reservoir Dogs,” Toshiya Fujita’s “Lady Snowblood” with “Kill Bill,” or classic TV westerns for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Tarantino has the unique ability to nod to the past while still feeling fresh. From his first feature through his most recent work, Variety has selected Tarantino’s best onscreen characters. In no particular order…
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“Death Proof” — Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell)
Image Credit: ©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Coll / Everett Collection Kurt Russell has always been an extraordinarily versatile actor, but seldom has that versatility been exploited so fully in a single role than as Stuntman Mike in “Death Proof.” As his namesake implies, the stunt man has cultivated a twisted fetish from his chosen vocation by menacing and eventually murdering young women with his 1970s Chevrolet Nova. But we also get to see him as a goofy boomer among millennials, chowing hungrily down on nachos; a seductive gentleman caller preying upon a young woman’s insecurities to score a free lap dance; a skilled driver initially outmaneuvering the stunt women he targets for his next collision; and then, an injured, cowering mess tearfully apologizing for trying to kill them. The role requires a complete panorama of reactions, anchored by a toughness and capability that makes his convincingly frightening, and Russell delivers the goods, allowing the audience to delight in watching a sick-minded bully get his comeuppance. — TG
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“Django Unchained” — Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio)
Image Credit: ©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Collection Tarantino had shepherded Leonardo DiCaprio to some of his career-best performances, but the arguable best of the best of those is as Calvin Candie in “Django Unchained.” He is the white whale (so to speak) who Django must conquer in order to get back his beloved Broomhilda, and DiCaprio makes him exactly as oily, entitled, menacing, and ultimately inhuman as the character needs to be in order to keep audiences holding their breath. Candie’s alternate joy and indifference in his introductory scene, as we watch two Black men fight each other to the death for his amusement, tells us all we need to know; his subsequent execution of a runaway slave further unsettles us while encapsulating his horrifying, regressive value system; and his manipulation, vindictiveness and plain old pettiness as their transaction for Broomhilda concludes makes him loathsome — and wonderfully so, a proper villain you can fully enjoy hating, while admiring the care, thought and commitment involved in creating him. — TG
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“From Dusk Till Dawn” — Seth Gecko (George Clooney)
Image Credit: ©Dimension Films/Courtesy Everett Collection One of the best to ever deliver Tarantino dialogue was George Clooney when he played the ice-cold bank robber Seth Gecko in “From Dusk Till Dawn.” Robert Rodriguez directed this Tarantino script, which also co-starred Tarantino as Seth’s loose cannon and sexually-deviant brother Richie. Yet Clooney steals the show as the endlessly charismatic robber, chewing on perfectly hard-boiled dialogue (like when he tells a hostage: “Don’t you ever try and fucking run on us. I’ve got six little friends and they can all run faster than you can”) while possessing enough flair to dare you not to root for him. It helps that Richie is a much worse dude, and, in comparison, Seth is just as focused on being a professional as Mr. Pink in “Reservoir Dogs.” That drive helps keep him alive, even after a drink at Mexican strip club The Titty Twister turns the crime movie into a vampire gore-fest at the midpoint. “From Dusk Till Dawn” makes an excellent case for Clooney as a drive-in feature leading man, a winning asshole that’s all smarm and charm. — WE
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“The Hateful Eight” — Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson)
Image Credit: ©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Coll / Everett Collection Nobody writes lines better for Samuel L. Jackson than Tarantino. The director’s regular collaborator leads “The Hateful Eight,” playing a Union soldier turned ruthless bounty hunter. Correction, one of the most ruthless bounty hunters to exist. He runs lines like, “Anybody opens their mouth, gonna get a bullet. Anybody moves a little weird, little sudden, gonna get a bullet. Not a warning. Not a question. A bullet.” Smoking a pipe and carrying a letter from Abraham Lincoln — yes, the Abraham Lincoln… allegedly –Jackson switches from calm and collected to not-so-composed on a dime. The film is an ensemble piece, but Jackson steals the show. — JT
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“Inglourious Basterds” — Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz)
Image Credit: ©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Collection What makes an iconic movie villain? Look no further than Hans Landa, the ruthless and despicable Nazi officer who dominates Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” As played by Christoph Waltz in an Oscar-winning performance, Hans is so menacingly verbose and ruthless that his terror knows no bounds. Part of Hans’ evilness is Waltz’s devilish grin and shark-like smile (here’s a character who is genuinely enraptured by his job to exterminate Jewish people), and part of is the obtuse monologues Tarantino gives the character that put terror and comedy into one sickening blender. Hans wants every character to know he is the smartest, most cultured and most compassionless person in the room. What makes him so terrifying is that he unquestionably is. He knows is and is delighted by that fact, and that’s why he’s one of Tarantino’s best characters. Any scene where Hans Landa enters the room, all your attention goes to him. Waltz and Tarantino hold you in Hans’ gaze and make it impossible to get out. It’s a sick, terrifying beast of a character. — ZS
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“Jackie Brown” — Jackie Brown (Pam Grier)
Image Credit: ©Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection As an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 1992 novel “Rum Punch,” the characters in “Jackie Brown” are by definition not Tarantino’s original creations. But by casting 1970s star Pam Grier, what he does with the title character — a 44-year-old white woman named Jackie Burke on the page — is nothing short of transformational: Grier lends her not only the desperation and resourcefulness that’s in the original story, but gives dimensionality, strength and sex appeal to a marginalized and would-be washed-up woman the world has decided is past her prime. Notwithstanding the filmmaker’s obvious and well-earned affection for his leading lady, a mainstay of his 1970s movie watching, he gives the character (and by extension, Grier herself) an opportunity to showcase the grace, charisma and sophistication she’s never been afforded by a system that sized her up by her race or her age or her job — and use that ignorance to extricate herself from the tightening noose of an increasingly difficult situation (and earn a nice little payday in the process). For a character who’s almost immediately put behind the 8-ball, audiences either want or want to be Jackie Brown, not simply because she outsmarts federal officers and quick-witted crime bosses but because she makes doing it look so damn good, even when it’s not easy. — TG
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“Kill Bill” — Pai Mei (Gordon Liu)
Image Credit: ©Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection For a filmmaker with a predilection for putting his cinematic heroes in films, Quentin Tarantino’s decision to cast Gordon Liu in his magnum martial arts opus “Kill Bill” — even in two different roles — feels like a bit of a fait accompli. But who better to play not only Johnny Mo, the head of O-Ren Ishii’s personal army, the Crazy 88, but Pai Mei, the cruel but uniquely honorable master who teaches Uma Thurman’s Bride/ Beatrix everything that she needs to know to defeat her former lover Bill and his deadly assassin squad? The star of “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin,” possibly the greatest martial arts training film of all time, dispensing wisdom (and a few ass kickings) to a younger generation of would-be action stars is deeply satisfying (and hugely entertaining) on multiple levels. Liu showcases both his peerless dexterity with fight choreography, but also his chops as an actor, particularly as Pai Mei slowly thaws to Beatrix’s fierce commitment and humility in the face of his unassailable (much less undefeatable) authority. — TG
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“Kill Bill” — The Bride (Uma Thurman)
Image Credit: ©Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection There is certain iconography the name “Quentin Tarantino” immediately evokes (think Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta in their “Pulp Fiction” suits), but Uma Thurman wielding a samurai sword and wearing a Bruce Lee-inspired yellow jumpsuit might just be the most iconic. For many, Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo/The Bride from “Kill Bill” is the best and most definitive Tarantino character. Why? Thurman’s determination for revenge festers so aggressively over the course of the two films that the character blazes off the screen. But The Bride is also a rare Tarantino character who is purely and unabashedly physical. Dialogue often fuels Tarantino’s most memorable characters (see Hans Landa, for instance), and the “Kill Bill” movies have their own abundance of these unforgettable roles (see Bill himself and his brilliant monologue on Superman and Clark Kent). But The Bride’s physicality is her greatest asset. She punches, kicks, flips and wiggles her big toe through various set pieces in which she emerges as the most full-bodied, physically alive and fearless character in Tarantino’s repertoire. — ZS
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“Natural Born Killers” — Mallory Knox (Juliette Lewis)
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection Although Tarantino has no love for the final product of this Oliver Stone film he initially scripted (“I hate that fucking movie,” he notably said. “If you like my stuff, don’t watch that movie”), it’s hard to deny Juliette Lewis’ live-wire performance as Mallory Knox, one half of the titular crime couple. Introduced in a frantic opening scene where she and the love of her life, Mickey (Woody Harrelson), systemically execute a diner full of customers, Lewis plays Mallory as a passionate woman able to turn on a dime. One minute she’s dancing seductively near a jukebox, and in one fluid motion she’s laughing, screaming and sucker-punching a local. As the scene erupts into more bloody violence, Mallory turns childlike, hopping on bodies like she’s jumping on a bed, and playing “Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe” to determine who to execute. It’s an unforgettable start, and it’s difficult to fathom that Lewis was barely out of her teens and able to conjure such an amoral character. It’s impossible to keep your eyes off of Mallory during the whole film, and although it was plagued by divisive reviews and controversy on release, “Natural Born Killers” is undoubtedly anchored by Lewis’ fearless work. — WE
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“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” — Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt)
Image Credit: ©Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Co / Everett Collection After starring in “Inglourious Basterds” as the Nazi-hating soldier Aldo Raine, Brad Pitt outdid himself as Cliff Booth, the macho, aging stuntman in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” 10 years later. Winning the first acting Oscar of his storied career for the role, Pitt seemed to merge himself with the chilled-out, washed-up stuntman with a mysterious past. His simple scenes, like making mac-and-cheese in his trailer, feeding his pit bull and fixing an antenna while shirtless on the roof, were just as enthralling as the fictitious fight against Bruce Lee and the finale’s murderous mayhem. Starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio is no easy feat, but Pitt made Cliff one of the most interesting Tarantino characters in recent memory. — JM
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“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” — Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie)
Image Credit: ©Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Co / Everett Collection Margot Robbie is the platonic ideal of Sharon Tate, the ’60s starlet married to Roman Polanski, in Tarantino’s most recent film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief that Tate survives the bloodbath in the director’s alternate history retelling of the Manson family murders, but the scene where Tate visits the Bruin Theatre in Westwood Village theater where her movie “The Wrecking Crew” is playing is just as pivotal. She cajoles the ticket seller to get her in free, strikes a pose in front of the poster, then strolls into the theater and props her bare feet on the seat in front (yes, we know), smiling at the real Sharon Tate up on the screen. Robbie’s version of the doomed actress is as laid-back and effortlessly beautiful as one imagines the real Tate must have been. — PS
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“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” — Trudi Fraser (Julia Butters)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing Very few people could steal a scene from Leonardo DiCaprio. Enter Julia Butters as Trudi Fraser. In “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Trudi encounters DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton on a television Western set. As his coworker in show business, Trudi offers Dalton some sound advice. “I believe it’s the job of an actor – and I say actor, not actress because the word actress is nonsensical – it’s the actor’s job to avoid impediments to their performance. It’s the actor’s job to strive for one hundred percent effectiveness. Naturally, we never succeed, but it’s the pursuit that’s meaningful,” she says. With that, Rick Dalton leaves feeling invigorated and inspired. Butters was 10-years-old at the time of production, but she speaks perhaps the wisest words in the film. — JT
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“Pulp Fiction” — Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson)
Image Credit: © Miramax/courtesy Everett Collection The Ezekiel 25:17 Bible verse from “Pulp Fiction” may not be 100% text-accurate, but it may be the most quotable passage in film history. Samuel L. Jackson’s thunderous delivery sends chills down spines when he bellows, “I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger!” In the pantheon of Tarantino actors, there is no alum more synonymous with the filmmaker than Jackson. After earning an Oscar nomination for Jules, he went on to collaborate with Tarantino in five more films, but his original appearance is his most memorable. Between his foul-mouthed, Shakespearean monologues about crime, retirement, divine intervention, cheeseburgers, foot massages and more, Jules is the surprising, philosophical heart of the film. — JM
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“Pulp Fiction” — Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman)
Image Credit: ©Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection The character who launched a thousand Halloween costumes, the enigmatic Mia Wallace, a onetime actress played by Uma Thurman, is effortlessly cool with her signature cigarette and fitted white blouse, black flares and gold flats. Thurman was Oscar nominated for supporting actress for her role as Marcellus Wallace’s wife. Sporting a perky black bob, Mia dances up a storm in a twist contest with John Travolta after he ribs her about ordering a “five dollar milkshake” and she reveals she goes to Amsterdam every year just to “chill out for a month.” She nearly doesn’t make it out of the film alive, but is revived from a heroin overdose when Travolta administers a syringe of adrenaline. — PS
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“Reservoir Dogs” — Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi)
Image Credit: ©Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection In a cast stacked with heavyweights, Steve Buscemi’s Mr. Pink quietly steals the show. His intelligence and moral code are illustrated perfectly in the film’s opening when, before the thieves’ diamond heist, they have a talky diner breakfast where Mr. Pink defends his policy of not tipping waitresses. Although the rest of the gangsters are surprisingly compassionate to the plight of restaurant workers (“Waitressing is the number one occupation for female non-college graduates in this country,” Harvey Keitel’s Mr. White informs him), Mr. Pink, eyes shifting, explains himself in a way that perfectly captures how he’s able to be the last man standing at the end of the picture: “I don’t tip because society says I have to. All right, if someone deserves a tip, if they really put forth an effort, I’ll give them something a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, it’s for the birds.” That self-preservation leads Mr. Pink from funny character moments (like complaining about and trying to trade his code name) to a kinetic foot chase from the cops that is one of the best-filmed scenes in Tarantino’s oeuvre. Only in a Tarantino movie could the character with the most depth be the only one trying to act like a professional. — WE
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