Quentin Tarantino is known for his peculiar narrative style and for how he made his own way in the film industry, and while his efforts and achievements are remarkable, he has a lot to thank Harvey Keitel for. Quentin Tarantino has become one of the most respected and influential filmmakers, and it all started in 1992 with the crime movie Tarantino’s visual and narrative style, but it also went on to become a classic of independent cinema, opening many doors for the controversial filmmaker.
However, Tarantino’s big break arrived two years later with Pulp Fiction, also a crime movie with the particularity of being divided into segments and told in a non-linear manner. Pulp Fiction made Tarantino a widely-known name in the entertainment industry, and he has since explored different genres in his movies, with most of them being a critical success while also getting a dose of controversy due to Tarantino’s infamous use of violence and blood. Tarantino has a lot to thank Reservoir Dogs and its success for, as well as one of its actors, who was key in boosting the director’s career.
Reservoir Dogs also marked the first collaboration of Tarantino with actors that would go on to appear in many of his projects, as are Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, and Harvey Keitel. The latter played Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs, one of the main characters in the story along with Mr. Orange (Roth), but Keitel’s role in the movie and in Tarantino’s career goes beyond being one of his frequent collaborators and one of the main stars of his debut movie, as he was key in getting the funding Tarantino needed for Reservoir Dogs, and it was also through him that the director found some of the movie’s main cast.
Tarantino originally planned to shoot Reservoir Dogs with his friends on a budget of $30,000 and in a 16mm black-and-white format, but these plans ultimately changed when producer Lawrence Bender gave Tarantino’s script to his acting teacher. The teacher’s wife then gave it to Harvey Keitel, who liked it so much that he signed as co-producer with the intention of helping Tarantino and Bender find the funding they needed to make Reservoir Dogs happen – and with his help, they raised $1.5 million. Keitel’s help didn’t stop there, as he also paid for Tarantino and Bender to host casting sessions in New York, through which they found Steve Buscemi (who went on to play Mr. Pink), Madsen (Mr. Blonde), and Roth. Harvey Keitel, then, made the pre-production process of Reservoir Dogs a lot easier for Tarantino, thus being a key player in Tarantino’s film career becoming what it is now.
Keitel also went on to become one of Tarantino’s frequent collaborators, playing Inglourious Basterds. With Quentin Tarantino now preparing for what is supposed to be his tenth and final movie, it would be heartwarming and fun if Harvey Keitel was cast in it, thus bringing their whole history together to a nice close.
