10 Most Unusual Demands Made By Quentin Tarantino Actors

2. John Travolta Insisted On Doing More Than Just "The Twist" - Pulp Fiction

Michael Madsen Reservoir Dogs
Miramax

Of the many instantly iconic visuals ever committed to a Tarantino masterpiece, the sight of John Travolta's Vincent Vega and Uma Thurman's Mia Wallace shaking their stuff on a dance floor partway through Pulp Fiction's runtime sits as arguably the most memorable.

Yet, as the Grease and Saturday Night Fever legend would eventually reveal, the early versions of this sequence were a little more uninspired than the eventual joint busting of a move fans were treated to in the 1994 flick. Tarantino initially had his heart set on the pair solely deploying "The Twist" as their move of choice in this jigging moment, but Travolta had other ideas after claiming "it’s limited in how long one wants to watch someone do the twist."

As Travolta would also confess during an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden:

"When I was growing up, there were novelty dances. There were dances like the swim and the Batman and the hitchhiker and the tighten up. Maybe we should widen the spectrum on this.”

Sure enough, sensing the legendary hip shaker likely knew what he was talking about on the matter, Tarantino allowed Travolta and Thurman to do far more than just "Twist" in the finished article.

Contributor
Contributor

Lifts rubber and metal. Watches people flip in spandex and pretends to be other individuals from time to time...