Which Actors Have Worked With Quentin Tarantino the Most?
America’s foul-mouthed auteur has a knack for distinctive casting. But which actors are his favorite recurring players?
With two Oscar wins, four Golden Globes, and over $1.6 billion in global box office grosses, Quentin Tarantino has been instrumental in redefining what “independent cinema” means over the course of the past 30 years. The writer, director and actor remains one of the most polarizing and controversial directors in all of Hollywood, as well as one of the most frequently imitated. Many people take issue with his onscreen violence and racial slurs, not to mention his provocative comments offscreen. But whether or not you are a fan of his over-the-top shootouts and vulgarity-filled extended dialogue sequences, it’s impossible to deny his influence on contemporary crime drama and violent action movies.
In addition to show-stopping soundtracks, flashy camera movements and punchy dialogue, Tarantino is known for giving many actors their defining (or occasionally re-defining) roles in his films. He rescued the career of John Travolta, got Samuel L. Jackson his first (and only) Oscar nomination, brought Christoph Waltz to Hollywood, and secured Brad Pitt his first acting Oscar win after two previous unsuccessful nominations. And like many of his 90’s indie film contemporaries such as Wes Anderson or Steven Soderberg, much of Tarantino’s casting charm boils down to his way of repeatedly re-using the same actors in interesting ways.
As always, let me know if I’ve missed anyone in the comments!
Rules for Inclusion
We’re only looking at actors who have appeared in two or more feature films. Every actor is listed in alphabetical order (by first name) within their respective sections, to keep it consistent with the data visualizations below. The names of each actor are links to their page on IMDB. In the future, whenever Quentin Tarantino releases his tenth and supposedly final feature-length film (which is sure to have some returning players), I will update the list and visualizations in this article.
Note: Quentin Tarantino shot Kill Bill (2003/04) all as one film, but was forced to cut it in two in order to fit all the story he wanted to tell. Tarantino considers it all one film, but from a data analytics perspective it’s more interesting to consider it two. This is because there are a few recurring players (notably James Parks, Michael Bowen, and Samuel L. Jackson) who only appear in one of the two volumes, and also at least one actor (Michael Parks) who appears in both volumes, but playing two different roles. Besides, the two volumes have different release dates, and different box office totals, so while it makes sense to lump them together from a narrative perspective, they are technically separate films.
Also, I’m making sure to distinguish between Tarantino’s Death Proof and the Grindhouse (2007) double feature it was part of, which was split with Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror. Those films also have frequent crossover in actors as you will see.
Six Films
Samuel L. Jackson — Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill Vol II (2004), uncredited narrator in Inglorious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015).
Four Films
James Parks — Kill Bill Vol. I (2003), Death Proof (2007), Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015). James Parks is the son of late actor Michael Parks, who also appeared in multiple Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez projects as sheriff Earl McGraw (see below). In Kill Bill Vol. I (2003) and Death Proof (2007), Michael and James Parks play father and son on screen, with Michael and James appearing in both projects as Sherriff Earl and Officer Edgar McGraw. James Parks also reprises the character of Officer Edgar Mcgraw for Machete (2010), based on one of the fake trailers from Grindhouse and then turned into a full-length feature by Robert Rodriguez. Machete is one of three feature films that have since been created from the once fake Grindhouse trailers, the others being Hobo With a Shotgun (2010) and Thanksgiving (2023), directed by Eli Roth (see below under two films).
Michael Madsen — Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kill Bill (2003/04), The Hateful Eight (2015), Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019)
Michael Parks — Kill Bill Vol. I (2003), Kill Bill Vol. II (2004), Death Proof (2007), Django Unchained (2012). The late character actor Michael Parks plays the same role of Sheriff (sometimes Ranger) Earl McGraw in multiple Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez films, starting with From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), which stars and was co-written by Tarantino, and directed by Rodriguez. In Kill Bill, Earl McGraw and his son Edgar McGraw (see James Parks above), appear in Vol I (2003), and Michael Parks plays a different role, the pimp Esteban Vihaio, in Vol. II (2004). Parks also plays the role of Sheriff McGraw in both films in the double feature Grindhouse (2007), including Planet Terror, directed by Rodriguez, and Death Proof, directed by Tarantino. The character of Earl McGraw also appeared in the tv show adaptation of From Dusk Till Dawn (2014–2016), where he was played by actor Don Johnson, who had previously collaborated with Robert Rodriguez in Machete (2010) and Quentin Tarantino in Django Unchained (2012).
Zoë Bell — Death Proof (2007), Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015), Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019). Actress and stunt coordinator Zoë Bell has had many collaborations with Tarantino, starting with Kill Bill where she was Uma Thurman’s stunt double. In addition to acting in the films listed above, she also served as a stunt double in Inglorious Basterds (2009) as well as coordinating the stunts for Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019). In addition to a prominent role in Death Proof from the 2007 double feature Grindhouse, she also coordinated the stunts for both films and cameos as a zombie in Planet Terror, the first film on the double bill.
Three Films
Bruce Dern — Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015), Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019)
David Steen — Reservoir Dogs (1992), Django Unchained (2012), Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019)
Harvey Keitel — Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), uncredited voice cameo in Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Kurt Russell — Death Proof (2007), The Hateful Eight (2015), Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019). Russell plays two roles in Once Upon a Time, stunt coordinator Randy Miller, as well as the film’s narrator. Tarantino has also gone on record saying that Russell also basically acted as a consultant on the movie, informing the production on its ’60s setting and the accuracy of the Western movie production elements of the film’s narrative.
Lawrence Bender —Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill Vol. II (2004). Producer Lawrence Bender produced all of those Tarantino films he has cameos in, as well as several others. He also executive produced and has a cameo in Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), which stars and was co-written by Tarantino.
Michael Bowen — Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill Vol. I (2003), Django Unchained (2012)
Tim Roth — Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), The Hateful Eight (2015). Roth also reportedly filmed scenes for Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019), but they didn’t end up making the finished cut of the film.
Uma Thurman — Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill Vol. I (2003), Kill Bill Vol. II (2004). Thurman also has a story credit on the Kill Bill films, as she is credited with co-creating The Bride character with Tarantino. Thurman’s daughter Maya Hawke also appears in Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019).
Two Films
Brad Pitt — Inglorious Basterds (2009), Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019). Pitt was slated to appear in The Movie Critic, a film that Tarantino had previously announced would be his tenth and final release. However, Tarantino recently announced that he is abandoning this project. At time of writing it remains to be seen if Pitt will return for whatever film replaces it.
Christoph Waltz — Inglourious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012)
Dana Gourrier — Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015)
Eli Roth — Death Proof (2007), Inglourious Basterds (2009). Horror director Eli Roth’s most well known on-screen appearance is his role as “The Bear Jew” in Inglourious Basterds (2009), but he has collaborated with Tarantino on many other occasions. He directed the fake slasher movie trailer for Thanksgiving in Grindhouse (2007), which he later adapted into a full-length film in 2023. Tarantino also produced the first two films in the Hostel franchise, which were both directed by Roth. In 2012, Roth co-wrote and produced The Man With The Iron Fists which was directed by Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, who had composed the original score for both volumes of Kill Bill. Iron Fists also featured several other Tarantino collaborators such as Lucy Liu (Kill Bill Vol. 1) and Pam Grier (Jackie Brown).
James Remar — Django Unchained (2012), Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019). Remar plays two roles in Django, the slave trader Ace Speck, who is killed early in the film’s opening scene, and later the character of Butch Pooch, an accomplice of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Calvin Candie. Remar also appeared in one episode of the From Dusk Till Dawn tv series, which was based off the film written by and co-starring Tarantino.
Julie Dreyfus — Kill Bill Vol. I (2003), Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Lee Horsley — Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015)
Monica Staggs — Death Proof (2007), Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019). Like her contemporary Zoë Bell (see above under Four Films), Staggs has experience as a stunt performer in Tarantino films in addition to acting in them. In both volumes of Kill Bill (2003/04), Staggs is credited as Darryl Hannah’s stunt double.
Steve Buscemi — Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994)
Walton Goggins — Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015)
Special Mentions
Michael Keaton — Despite only appearing in one Tarantino film, portraying ATF agent Ray Nicolette in the Elmore Leonard adaptation Jackie Brown (1997), Oscar-nominated actor Michael Keaton also reprised this role a year later in director Steven Soderberg’s own Leonard adaptation Out of Sight. Later in 2013, actors Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) and John Hawkes also portrayed the same Jackie Brown characters as Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Deniro, respectively, in yet another Leonard adaptation, Life of Crime.
Bruce Willis — Willis’ only Tarantino credit is his legendary role in Pulp Fiction (1994), but he does pop up in a couple scenes in Planet Terror, the Robert Rodriguez-directed first film in the Grindhouse (2007) double feature. Planet Terror also features a cameo from Tarantino himself, as well as Rose McGowan, who plays a different role in the second film in Grindhouse, Tarantino’s Death Proof.
True Romance — This Tony Scott-directed crime drama was co-written by Quentin Tarantino and his Oscar-winning Pulp Fiction collaborator Roger Avery. The film was released in 1993, a year before Fiction was, and stars several actors who would later appear in that film, including Samuel L. Jackson and Christopher Walken. It also features a young Brad Pitt, who would later go on to star in two Tarantino films.
Other Frequent Collaborators
Andrzej Sekula — Sekula was director of photography on Tarantino’s first two films. After that, Guillermo Navarro shot Jackie Brown (1997), before Tarantino found his regular collaborator in Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson (see below), who has shot every film of his since, with the exception of Death Proof (2007), which Tarantino shot himself.
Fred Raskin — Fred Raskin took over editing duties after Sally Menke (see below) sadly passed away in 2010. He has edited every Tarantino film since then, starting with Django Unchained (2010). Prior to serving as solo editor for Tarantino, he also worked as an assistant editor on Kill Bill (2004/05). Raskin was also first assistant editor on Billy Bob Thornton’s All The Pretty Horses, a Cormac McCarthy adaptation that Thornton directed, and was edited and produced by Sally Menke.
Harvey Weinstein — The disgraced and incarcerated mega-producer Harvey Weinstein was a massive help in getting Tarantino’s career off the ground, producing or executive producing all of his films until the #MeToo movement kicked off in October 2017. Grindhouse (2007) star Rose McGowan was instrumental in the case that eventually lead to Weinstein being convicted for rape. Weinstein was obviously not involved in Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019) and is not expected to have any involvement in Tarantino’s tenth and apparently final film.
Robert Richardson — Ten-time Oscar nominee and three-time winner Robert Richardson has shot every Tarantino film since Kill Bill (2003/04), with the exception of Death Proof (2007). He has been nominated for Oscars for his work on the past four Tarantino films, but he has not won for any of them.
Sally Menke — the late Sally Menke was the editor on every Tarantino film from his debut Reservoir Dogs (1992) to Inglourious Basterds (2009), until hear death the following year. She was nominated for two Oscars for her work with Tarantino, first for Pulp Fiction (1995), and again for Basterds.
Up Next
What are your favorite roles in Quentin Tarantino films? Which one of Tarantino’s cameos in his own films is the most distracting? Let me know in the comments.
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