“My career was at its lowest point”: 28 years ago, Quentin Tarantino saved this actor from oblivion!

When you think of Quentin Tarantino movies, Jackie Brown might not be the one that immediately comes to mind. However, this is definitely one of the director’s best feature films. However, since it is much quieter and calmer than his other films, we can understand why it is less quoted than Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill or Django Unchained.

Let us remind you that the story tells about Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who makes a living by transporting cash on behalf of arms dealer Ordell Robb. One day, a federal agent and a Los Angeles police officer picked him up at the airport. They hope to bring down the trafficker.

Jack then devises a daring plan to outdo everyone in the upcoming transfer, involving the modest sum of $500,000. But he will have to reckon with Ordell’s accomplices, who have rather quick methods.

Tarantino is reviving his career

Note that Jackie Brown is Quentin Tarantino’s only film based on a novel. In this case, the director screened the book written by Elmore Leonard Creole Punch (published in 1992). Quentin Tarantino casts Pam Grier, a 70s blaxploitation superstar, as the title character.

Like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, the filmmaker breathes new life into the actor’s career; The latter has been largely forgotten over the years after being the queen of encore movies, especially thanks to Foxy Brown and Coffey, Harlem’s Black Panther characters.

However, Pam Grier is not the only one Tarantino brings back to the spotlight with this film. It also offers a certain Robert Forster a role that will remain memorable and that will help the actor to relaunch his career. This role is that of a friendly pawnbroker who falls in love with Jackie Brown.

A resounding comeback at the age of 56

At the end of the 90s, the then 56-year-old actor was at a dead end; He can no longer find important roles, trying to survive thanks to small, insignificant productions. If we had to compare it, we could compare him to Rick Dalton, the falling star played by Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

After an important actor in the 60s and 70s (Reflections in Golden Eyes, Justin, Don Angelo is Dead), Robert Forster has been vegetating in Hollywood B series for 20 years (The Delta Force, Maniac Cop 3, American Yakuza) when Tarantino asked him to play Max Cherry He put on a suit.

“I had to play any role because I have four children and you have to learn to play any role and do the best you can.”He revealed in an interview with IndieWire in 2011.

My career was at an all-time low and Quentin arrived.

His performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 and brought the artist out of obscurity. “My career was at an all-time low and Quentin came along.”He confided in the documentary QT8, which aired on Arte last September. This film contains an interesting interview with Robert Forster before his death in 2019.

A life-changing role

“Tarantino told me he was adapting Elmore Leonard’s novel Creole Punch into a movie. I thought he wasn’t going to let me hire him. At that point in my career, they didn’t want me anymore. We were looking. Headliners I’ll never forget him saying, ‘Whoever I want to hire.’The actor revealed.

He said, “I hire whoever I want.” That’s when I told myself that this would change my life.

Especially thanks to Jackie Brown, Robert Forster got an important role in the TV series Breaking Bad, in the role of Cleaner, the creator of the cult series Ed Vince Gilligan was a fan of the feature film and absolutely wanted it. An actor in this character’s costume. He will also reprise his role in El Camino, one of his last performances before his death on October 11, 2019, at the age of 78.

“Today the world loses another gentleman. Another maverick. A good man. A wonderful father. A wonderful actor. I remember all our breakfasts at the Silver Spoons. All the stories. All the kind words. All the support. Giving Robert. Forster’s role in Jackie Brown one of It’s the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.”Tarantino said after announcing Robert Forster’s death.