John Cusack really did sit down with Quentin Tarantino while Pulp Fiction was taking shape, but he says one important part of the story that developed afterward never happened. During a new appearance on Happy Sad Confused, Cusack confirmed that he met Tarantino at a Denny’s to discuss the film.
The meeting was hardly a conventional Hollywood pitch. Cusack recalled Tarantino telling him the entire story and acting it out across the table, leaving the actor with the impression that the filmmaker had something interesting on his hands.
Pulp Fiction casting document that surfaced years later placed Cusack prominently among the possibilities for Lance, the drug dealer ultimately played by Eric Stoltz. The Guardian reported in 2015 that the document listed Cusack as Tarantino’s first choice for the character.
Cusack now says that whatever Tarantino was considering, the process never reached the point of an actual offer. “I thought it was a cool story, but I never got it offered or turned it down,” he told the podcast, drawing a line between being discussed for the movie and formally rejecting a part.
The Denny’s Meeting Ended With Tarantino Talking About His Home Theater
Cusack’s memory of the meeting includes an especially Tarantino-like change of subject. After performing the movie for him, the director began enthusiastically describing his new television, screening room and projectors instead of moving directly into a discussion about a character or contract.
Entertainment Weekly reported that Cusack remembered Tarantino “geeking out” over the equipment while he was still processing the film story he had just heard. Cusack liked what Tarantino had described, but no follow-up offer arrived after the meeting.
The Old Casting Sheet Put Cusack Ahead of Eric Stoltz for Lance
A typed casting sheet that circulated publicly in 2015 listed Cusack and Stoltz prominently for the character, and the notes were unusually specific about the order Tarantino was considering them.
The Evening Standard reported that the sheet included the note, “Wrote part for John, if John can’t do it I want Eric.” Stoltz ultimately played Lance and had previously appeared with Cusack in Say Anything….
There was a face-to-face conversation about the movie, but Cusack says the process ended before he was asked to accept or reject Lance.
Tarantino Later Said the Viral Document Was Not Really a ‘Wish List’
Years after it went viral, Tarantino said the document had been oversimplified online as his definitive Pulp Fiction wish list when it was actually designed to give him flexibility during the casting process.
Speaking on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast in 2022, Tarantino explained that he had written down a large group of actors so the studio could pre-approve potential choices. NME reported that Tarantino said he did not yet know exactly who he wanted for every role and wanted room to meet performers and determine whether they fit.
Cusack Cleared Up Another Long-Running Casting Myth in the Same Interview
Pulp Fiction was not the only famous project Cusack said has been inaccurately added to his list of supposed rejections. During the same Happy Sad Confused conversation, he addressed the persistent claim that he had once turned down Walter White in Breaking Bad.
Cusack said he eventually asked creator Vince Gilligan directly whether the role had ever been offered to him. Gilligan told him it had not, and Cusack said he was relieved to finally have an answer; he also rejected the idea that he should regret missing the role, saying Bryan Cranston’s performance made clear that Walter White was meant for him.