Quentin Tarantino has created some of the most incredible protagonists in cinematic history over the course of his career. These characters tend to be fierce, violent, deeply flawed, and entrenched in dark humor. Despite his track record suggesting a career basically only filled with successful and fantastic films, some of his protagonists are better than others.
We’ve ranked all of the main protagonists in Tarantino films based on a variety of factors, from their humor to their skill with a weapon, to how interesting their backstory is. We’ve also taken into account how well acted the role is; Tarantino is known for his genius casting.
Jackie Brown (Jackie Brown)
Typically, Tarantino employs a specific cast full of familiar faces that he likes to return to time and time again. In Jackie Brown, he gave the lead role to a one-off actress: Pam Grier.
She’s a talented lady, of course, but was simply in the wrong film at the wrong time. While by no means a bad film, this is definitely Tarantino’s weakest full-length film and thus, his worst main character.
Rick Dalton (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood)
Rick Dalton is Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. He is an actor in the fake TV show Bounty Law, and we follow his escapades alongside his stunt double as he navigates a failing Hollywood career during the time of the Manson family.
He’s a great character, but he just doesn’t possess the same depth and intrigue of many of his other protagonists.
Major Marquis Warren (The Hateful Eight)
One of Tarantino’s more divisive works was The Hateful Eight. Originally intended as a sequel to Django Unchained, the film ended up being a Samuel L. Jackson-led western dominated by intense conversation and, of course, violent set-pieces.
A bit like Jackie Brown, the reason Major Marquis Warren isn’t ranked higher on this list is simply that it isn’t the best Tarantino film, and as such, his dialogue isn’t as addictive as many of Jackson’s other roles.
Lt. Aldo Raine (Inglourious Basterds)
Brad Pitt’s starring role in Inglourious Basterds will always be overshadowed by the unfathomable genius of Christoph Waltz’s Hans Landa opposite him, but it’s important to remember that Pitt’s role was also fantastic.
He is the leader of the Basterds and one of the main players in a mission which ended up bringing about the death of Adolf Hitler and branding Landa with a swastika forever.
Vincent Vega (Pulp Fiction)
The reason Vincent Vega was such a perfect character was that he was so different. While Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill was desperately seeking revenge, Vega remained cool throughout.
The most endearing thing about him as a character was probably Travolta’s acting. His career wasn’t at its peak when he was cast, and it was this film that re-proved his talent.
Mr. White (Reservoir Dogs)
As with a few other Tarantino films, Reservoir Dogs doesn’t really have one main protagonist who stands alone. However, if we had to whittle it down, Harvey Keitel’s Mr. White would come out on top.
It’s hard to compete with the intensity of Mr. Blonde, but the tragedy of the end of his story is what makes him so compelling: he is forced to kill Joe and Eddie to protect Mr. Orange, before finding out that Mr. Orange was an undercover police officer, killing him and being killed himself soon after.
Django Freeman (Django Unchained)
One of the rare films to hand the lead role over to someone who isn’t one of his regular collaborators was Django Unchained. Jamie Foxx’s portrayal of Django himself is in equal part sympathetic and tragic, and effortlessly cool.
Sharon Tate (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood)
Margot Robbie has recently revealed herself to be one of the finest actors in cinema at the moment, and her portrayal of Manson Family victim Sharon Tate only acts as further proof.
She makes the character both intensely likable and relatable, while the alternate reality ending only makes us wish this had truly been the case.
Shoshanna Dreyfus (Inglourious Basterds)
Shoshanna’s name is first heard during that remarkably intense scene at the very start of Inglourious Basterds, and it takes us a little while to see her again. When we do, she is propelled to a hugely important role and her sacrifice directly leads to the death of Adolf Hitler. Her character arc is both heartbreaking and immensely satisfying, making it one of the most compelling to follow in any Tarantino movie.
Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction)
One of the main characters in Pulp Fiction starts out as a hitman and ends up leaving to ‘walk the Earth’. If that isn’t character development, we don’t know what is.
Samuel L. Jackson is able to bring out an incredible intensity combined with cool humor throughout the film.
Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill)
One of the most endearing protagonists in film history is Beatrix Kiddo, (AKA The Bride) from Kill Bill. She starts the film without being able to walk, and ends it having wiped out the entirety of the assassin squad who had attempted to dispose of her years earlier. And boy is it satisfying.