From the Bride’s roaring rampage of revenge to Col. Hans Landa’s increasingly sinister presence, Quentin Tarantino has a knack for writing rich, complex characters. He writes compelling leads and even more compelling supporting players, and then casts the perfect actors to bring them to life on the silver screen.
For a director who is renowned for his character work, it’s hard to imagine that Tarantino has any underrated creations. But there have been a couple of fantastic, well-rounded roles across Tarantino’s oeuvre who haven’t gotten the recognition that they deserve. So, here are Quentin Tarantino’s 10 Most Underrated Characters, Ranked.
Joe Cabot
Tarantino’s vision of a classical “mob boss” character, Joe Cabot appeared in the director’s debut feature, Reservoir Dogs. That movie primarily focuses on Mr. White and Mr. Orange’s relationship, while Mr. Pink and Mr. Blonde also stand out as memorable characters. But Joe is pretty great, too.
Joe was played by Lawrence Tierney, who is famous for a long career of portraying tough guys and hardened criminals. While the role of Joe is right up Tierney’s alley, it’s an uncharacteristically humorous performance. Joe has a lot of funny lines in the script, and Tierney delivers every one with a hilariously deadpan demeanor.
Wayne Gale
Although Oliver Stone heavily rewrote Tarantino’s script for Natural Born Killers, his unique voice can still be heard in the finished film. The most memorable characters from the movie are its central Bonnie and Clyde-esque duo, Mickey and Mallory Knox, but they have an interesting parallel with Robert Downey, Jr.’s character, Wayne Gale.
Gale is a flashy TV journalist who hosts a true crime series called American Maniacs. The movie makes an interesting point that a journalist who sensationalizes serial killers by turning their crimes into entertainment might be judged as a better person than the killers themselves, but certainly isn’t a saint.
Max Cherry
Max Cherry is the male romantic lead in Jackie Brown, perhaps Tarantino’s most underrated movie to date. Robert Forster was deservingly nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his turn as Max in the movie. It’s rare that a character in a Tarantino movie has a pure, innocent soul – even the so-called “heroes” are usually cold-blooded killers or career criminals – so it was refreshing to meet Max, who is just a good guy.
The relationship that Max develops with Jackie throughout the movie is one of the most earnest and believable dynamics in Tarantino’s filmography. This isn’t a clichéd Hollywood romance; it’s a real bond.
Bridget von Hammersmark
While Inglourious Basterds’ standout characters include the nefarious Hans Landa and the ruthless “Bear Jew,” Bridget von Hammersmark has perhaps the most interesting hook: she’s a German movie star who betrays the Nazis and uses her acting skills to spy for the Allies.
Her arc in the story is fascinating, too. After emerging as the sole survivor in the basement shootout, albeit with a bullet wound in her leg, she has to pretend to have been in a skiing accident when she brings the Basterds undercover to a Nazi propaganda premiere to assassinate Hitler. Landa is onto her, and she gets one of the movie’s most shocking death scenes.
Chris Mannix
Most commentary of The Hateful Eight will mention Daisy Domergue, Major Marquis Warren, and John Ruth as the film’s most memorable characters. And they are riveting. But one character who isn’t discussed as much as he should be is Chris Mannix. He joins the stagecoach in the middle of the woods and claims that he’s the new sheriff of Red Rock.
Out of the movie’s eight leads, Chris’ story was the least believable, and he was introduced in the most mysterious way, so he was arguably the hardest to trust. The irresistible charms of Walton Goggins went hand-in-hand with Tarantino’s dialogue, leading to some unforgettable character moments.
Ordell Robbie
Samuel L. Jackson played gun runner Ordell Robbie in Jackie Brown, Tarantino’s movie adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel Rum Punch (as of yet, the director’s only adaptation of someone else’s work), and he brought subtle nuances to his performance. Pulp Fiction made Jackson a star with a loud, aggressive, articulate contract killer who recited passages from the Bible before blowing his targets to kingdom come.
So, it seemed like a step backwards for him to play a role with less monologues and violence. But in retrospect, Ordell is just as interesting as Jules. His quieter, more understated behavior meant that his biggest moments, like spontaneously killing his partner, had more impact.
Lance
While Jules, Vincent, Mia, Butch, Marsellus, Pumpkin, Honey Bunny, and “the Wolf” don’t leave a lot of room for discussing other characters in Pulp Fiction, Vincent’s heroin dealer Lance stands out as one of the most realistic portraits in the movie.
Eric Stoltz does a terrific job of playing Lance as dazed, spaced-out drug dealer. He’s constantly trying to upsell his new stuff, but remains respectful of his customers and doesn’t try to rip them off. His panicked state in the overdose scene, arguing with Jody about a little black medical book and eventually giving up on it, is both hilarious and intense.
Trudi Fraser
Much of the discussion surrounding the characters of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood either focused on the dynamic shared by the two leads, Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth, or the film’s portrayal of real-life figures like Sharon Tate and Bruce Lee. But there’s another character who makes a huge impact with just a couple of scenes: child actor Trudi Fraser, played by Julia Butters.
Trudi is introduced on the set of Lancer to contrast with Rick. While he’s reading a pulpy western novel, she’s reading a biography of Walt Disney. While he can’t remember his lines, she’s still in character between takes. She’s emotionally stable, and has to comfort Rick when he bursts into tears. Trudi telling Rick, “That was the best acting I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” was a surprisingly sweet moment for a Tarantino movie.
Stephen
Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L. Jackson are a match made in heaven. Tarantino writes substantial genre characters and Jackson plays them with a real humanity. While Jules Winnfield is easily Jackson’s most famous role in a Tarantino film, his part in Django Unchained might be his most complex.
In a movie that deals with the ugly realities of slavery through the revenge fantasy of a freed slave fighting back against white slavers, Stephen has a unique place in the story as a black villain. As Calvin Candie’s house slave, he sides more with Calvin than he does with Django and Broomhilda, and even sells them out when he catches wind of their plan. He’s one of Tarantino’s most sinister antagonists.
Floyd
Floyd is Dick’s pothead roommate in True Romance – a movie that Tarantino wrote, but did not direct – and Brad Pitt delivers every one of his lines hilariously, pausing in all the right places: “Get some beer...and some...cleaning products.” A lot of the praise directed at the characters of True Romance goes to Gary Oldman’s sadistic villain Drexl Spivey, and Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper’s acting in “the Sicilian scene,” but Floyd is another clear standout.
Floyd served as the inspiration for Pineapple Express, as writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg thought it would be funny for a guy like him to be the protagonist of an action-packed crime thriller.