Along with being regarded as one of the greatest films of the 20th century, Pulp Fiction is often credited with saving John Travolta's career. And it was with some effort that he finally got the role of Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, the heroin-addicted hitman character who launched a new era of his career. But if the church of Scientology had gotten its say, Travolta's path and Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece would have been very different.
In the latest episode of A&E's Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, Mike Rinder, a former high-ranking official in the Church of Scientology, tells the story of the advice he gave Travolta at the time:
"I've got a story about this that I'm not sure I should really tell. When Quentin Tarantino approached John Travolta for a role in Pulp Fiction, John asked me to review the script to tell him what I thought, and his role was a heroin-addict assassin, and I said, 'Oh, John, I don't think that you should do this.' What great career advice; I should be an agent. Sensibly, he ignored me."
As we've learned with many recent documentaries on Scientology, the church maintains a stranglehold on its member's personal and professional lives. This, it seems, even extends to advising actors to not choose roles that would later get them an Academy Award nomination.
