After getting the public’s attention in 1992 with Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino delivered Pulp Fiction two years later. Met with critical acclaim and performing excellently at the box office, some would argue it’s Tarantino’s best movie, with its cast being just one of the ways it shines. Included in that lineup of talent is Samuel L. Jackson, who played Jules Winfield, and for Pulp Fiction’s 30th anniversary, the actor recalled the moment when he knew the film was “something special.”
Although Jackson has been professionally acting since the early 1970s, there’s no question that Pulp Fiction played a big role in boosting his professional profile. Playing Jules even netted him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and while Martin Landau ended up winning that category for playing Béla Lugosi in Ed Wood, Tarantino’s movie still did a remarkable job of making Jackson a household Hollywood name. Taking to his Instagram page, the Nick Fury performer shared various behind-the-scenes photos of the making of Pulp Fiction, promoting the movie, attending premieres for it and so forth, as well as wrote this caption:
PULP FICTION is 30! This movie launched like a rocket out of Cannes and changed my life. It debuted in theaters on this day in 1994 and I’ll always remember the audience reaction. I knew this film was something special after that…AND 30 YEARS LATER, IT STILL IS.
Pulp Fiction opened wide in theaters on October 14, 1994, five months after it played at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Palm d’Or, the event’s top prize. That’s a big enough honor by itself, but for Samuel L. Jackson, seeing how well it was received among general moviegoers was what tipped him off that he’d taken part in an especially special movie. Clearly he was correct considering how much Pulp Fiction is talked about to this day, whether it’s fans simply discussing their favorite scenes or learning about behind-the-scenes facts from Tarantino’s second movie.
Samuel L. Jackson’s co-stars in the Pulp Fiction cast included John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Ving Rhames, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer. Jackson in particular had a lot of memorable moments in the movie, the most well-known of the bunch being when he recited Ezekiel 25:17 before executing someone. In addition to the earlier Pulp Fiction tribute post, Jackson also uploaded a video of himself spouting off the tweaked biblical passage:
If you now find yourself in the mood to watch Pulp Fiction, it can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription. Otherwise, check out Samuel L. Jackson’s latest project, the Peacock miniseries Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, and check back with us for news on Quentin Tarantino’s 10th and final movie, which will not be The Movie Critic as previously planned.