Quentin Tarantino Movie Characters Ranked
What makes Quentin Tarantino films as interesting and absorbing as they are, are their fascinating characters. From heinous and detestable Slave owners to Hollywood’s 1960s failing actors. From deadly assassins to simple bondsmans. Since his first film, Reservoir Dogs, the director have showed his fantastic ability to create some of the most beloved and iconic characters in existence.
And since the huge number of those characters, their uniqueness and also considering the fact that there is no possible way to objectively rank them, here I am trying to do the same nonetheless, but as openly and freely as I can. Everyone have set of Tarantino characters they adore and will get pissed when they are missing from this list. This is only a celebration of his films and of his characters which will be often talked about in future as passionately as they have had been in the past. The list contains only the films which he has directed and not the films which have him as a writer. So lets begin.
15. Rick Dalton
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Performed to its perfection by everyone’s beloved Leonardo Dicaprio, Rick Dalton is an unusual character for the actor, yet he suprised with this fascinating portrayal of a falling actor of 1960s Hollywood. Rick Dalton is proud, insecure, funny and absolutely lovable character who is as successful as any other character in Tarantino’s varied filmography.
14. Bill
Kill Bill Part 1 & 2
Bill from Kill Bill films is a very mysterious character from the very start. We don’t see much of anything of him in an entire first film except his voice, yet we still get the idea of what this Bill might be. His terror can still be felt. And we definitely understand the cause of The Bride. He is complex and sophisticated character, with undeniable air of evil yet there are moments of his goodness as well, which makes Bill all the more interesting.
13. Stuntman Mike
Death Proof
Though regarded as Tarantino’s weakest film, which is still worthy of praise for how good the film sometimes is, The Stuntman Mike is the character which shines the most in this film. This character was created on the basis of exploitation films made in old Hollywood days, and which in turn makes sense as to why Stuntman Mike is the way he is in the film. His actions make no sense. Yet he still has bit of everything: charisma, dark humour, evilness, stupidly and a fair share of love for feet!
12. Daisy
The hateful Eight
Woah! I might have went to far! But coming back to Daisy, she is certainly messy but a very strong and intelligent character. While most of the film it certainly seems like she is the victim and is there only to take most violent of abuses and blows, it might not entirely be the case. Perhaps she is the smartest one in the group and might have her own set of incredible secret schemes which no one is aware of?
11. Lt. Aldo
Inglorious Basterds
Inglourious Basterd is full of unique characters, all of them deserves a mention in the list because of depth and complexity which all of them have. While some of them were caricaturish, which was perhaps deliberate. Same is the case with Lt. Aldo; a funny, charming, brutal, intelligent, a fearless leader leading the Basterds to revenge Nazis. Though he is kind and man with convictions, he kills Nazis in most cruel and sadist ways.
10. Django
Django Unchained
Tarantino likes to revision history by his imagination. Here he revisions Django and one of the tragic history of America. Django is a slave who revenges the cruel plantation owners who also have hobby of killing blacks for fun and by making them fight until their death. He also is in search of his wife who had been sold away. Django makes an interesting character whose journey is fascinating, from a slave being freed from a bounty hunter, at the time he being quite naive, to his transformation to badass hero of our revenge story is breathtakingly satisfying.
9. Hans landa
Inglourious Basterds
A completely and a full fledged evil character. With full reasons for audience to feel complete abhorrence towards him. There is no way to feel any sort of sympathy to this character. It is as evil it can get in a film. And there is no better satisfaction for audience to see this person put into death as soon it can happen. Its a complete definition of an antagonist. Landa is menacing, cruel and without any sense of remorse or guilt, a perfect killing machine unable to feel any significant emotion, and his added intelligence makes him all the more dangerous and intimidating. And is played with such conviction and brilliance by Waltz that it makes all the more fascinating to think that he was the same person who played King Shultz in Django Unchained.
8. Cliff Booth
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Cliff Booth is a friend which everyone would like to have. Ignoring the fact that he perhaps might have killed his wife he is pretty affable person. A stunt double for a failing Hollywood actor Rick Dalton played by Leonardo Dicaprio, the two make a great pair, but Pitt always a little fraction more charming and lovable than the other when they are together. This is a fascinating character when we see him feed his hungry wild dog, refusing blowjob from a hot girl because she is not eighteen yet, breaking hippie girl’s skull using his bare hands, or even when he is talking to his damn tv! This a fun. A comfort film with a go to buddy character for many people.
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7. Major Marquis
The Hateful Eight
This former Union soldier from Civil War, and currently an executioner, who is quite fond of a letter written by his pal Abe Lincoln to him personally, is a menacing, mysterious character with hell of a charm, with lots of secrets and hidden motives. Though not the best Samuel Jackson character of Tarantino, it is nonetheless great one, taking a center stage in this blood bathed, awfully violent and gruesome murder-mystery western.
6. The Bride
Kill Bill Part 1 and 2
The bride is no better character than anyone in this list. In fact there are actually more interesting characters in Tarantino’s resume who can make into this list than The Bride. Even O-ren’s story is more fascinating than the one of our heroine out on a revenge. But its the sheer popularity the character has and how its recognized is of much more importance. It is one of the characters which is in the list for its iconic status it have in the film world. Its too important to be left out. And apart from that, its probably one of the coolest female character as well in the profile of the master.
5. Jackie Brown
Jackie Brown
Jackie Brown is most uniquely different film, and Pam Grier’s Jackie Brown is most unique character as well as well in the list. Its a film with most humane, grounded and realistic characters in his entire filmography and Jackie Brown might be best character in this film. She is vulnerable, aged, tired of life and with eyes full of despair and indifference, yet she does the worst she can do in her situation, that is to smuggle money for a gangster. And funny enough, she has the intelligence or probably luck enough too, to outsmart most of them. In this cat and mouse game, there is no better fun than watching characters talk about most obscure, random and unimportant of things, to see them outsmart each other, to seem them kill another because the other made another mad by joking too much, its great film to watch with great characters to hang out with.
3. Jules
Pulp Fiction
Jules and Vincent make one of the most iconic pairs in cinema. They are pop culture icons. While Vincent is vulnerable and reluctant to take risks, Jules is fearless and perhaps smarter too, who talks things no one understands. While his humour says otherwise, Jules might one of the smartest character of Tarantino.
2. Calvin Candie
Django Unchained
A racist plantation owner who’s hobbies being to make his slaves wrestle with each until their death or feeding them to dogs if they refuse to do so. He is most, evil, vulgar and detestable a person can ever be imagined. With no single redeeming quality about him. Yet, played by such undeniable charm and conviction by Caprio, pouring his own sweat and blood(did you notice what I was referring to). It is a menacing merciless character, by whom you are fascinated and also want to see him dead as soon as possible.
1. King Schultz
Django Unchained
The smartest, wittiest and most charming of Tarantino characters! While it being not at all overlooked, it doesn’t get counted as often as in the ranks of Jules or The Bride or Hans Landa and the alike. It certainly is an iconic character of that league. A German bounty hunter desperately trying to help a slave become free. Complex, sophisticated and hard to understand, who’s motives remain ambiguous throughout and makes us wonder why he is doing what he is doing. His actions are well defined by himself yet he is totally unpredictable. He is complex combination of good and bad. His philosophy being sophisticated and incomprehensible. He is a person who responds to his emotions rather than how he is written by a writer. While he does not hesitate killing a criminal for bounty in front his minor child, he is moved by a slave’s determination to search his wife and starts to help him. While he is a mass murderer himself, the images of people getting torn apart by dogs is a sight he could not ever forget. He is rational, and does everything by a well laid out plan but who also can’t simply resist temptations which might make him dead! For me it’s the most memorable Tarantino character. And which I cannot forget for a long time.
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