The film Pulp Fiction has many iconic
actors in it which helps make this an American Film Institute Top 10. Personality actors are actors that by the
sheer power of their personality are cast in specific roles that coincide with
their persona. Samuel Jackson is one of
those actors whose voice and tone are identifiable across all genres and
through a sea of other actors. Although
his characters in different films may not be similar, how he portrays each
character is. In his role as Stephen in
Django Unchained, Samuel Jackson plays a slave which is quite different from
his role as Jules Winnfield, a gangster in the movie Pulp Fiction, yet his
demeanor and tone is the same. No matter
what role he plays he comes across to the viewer as simply a “bad ass” who is
capable of anything.
Another iconic actor who falls into
the personality actor category from the film Pulp Fiction is Christopher Walken
who plays CAPT. Koons a war veteran who
is sent to speak to Bruce Willis’ character when he was a young boy. He is another actor who has a very specific
tone and speaking manner that is very easily identifiable. Films with strong
personality actors can make it difficult for audiences to differentiate
between the actor and the character (goody & Koontz 2014) and he is one of
these actors that you refer to as Christopher Walken vice CAPT Koons.
One of my favorite actors and
characters in this film is Butch Coolidge played by Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis is one of the wild card type
actors, although he has acted in many action movies he has also done well in other
genres. His roles in the movies “A New
Daughter” and in the “Sixth Sense” were far from his typical action packed
typical roles like in the “Die Hard” series.
His ability to cross genres and perform well is a testament to his
acting abilities making him a block buster film actor.
References:
Tarentino, Q.
(Director). (1994). Pulp Fiction
[film] US., Miramax Films
Tarentino, Q.
(Director). (2014) Django
Unchained [film]. US., Columbia Pictures
