Ranked: Quentin Tarantino’s 50 Best Characters

20. Winston Wolf – “Pulp Fiction” (1994)
Doing 100mph down the thin line between calculated poise and truly cool, Harvey Keitel plays the ultimate fixer who is also a surprisingly effective example of great management. We can intuit that the Wolf built his charmed life (what’s up with that 7am formal party?) using sheer force of will, and suspect he is one of the few Tarantino creations whose story might end well.

19. Abernathy – “Death Proof” (2007)
Kim’s the driver and de factor leader of the second-half girl gang in “Death Proof,” but film crew pro Abernathy is our surrogate whose horror turns into delight as Zoe Bell rides “ship’s mast” on their borrowed Dodge Charger. Tarantino’s sympathies are obviously with Abernathy from the moment the camera first lands on Rosario Dawson, and she even gets the unforgettable, merciless final strike against Stuntman Mike.

18. Clarence – “True Romance” (1992) 
Tarantino wrote a few fantasy-fulfillment characters early on, and this young guy —Elvis fan, movie devotee, geek-store clerk— seems like a neon-sculpted writer’s alter-ego. Clever, determined and tender, Clarence is the nerd as male romantic ideal. But his impulsiveness and total lack of experience give Clarence just enough shortcomings to play as a legit personality.

17. Alabama – “True Romance” (1993)
It’s a lot easier to say “Alabama” than “manic pixie dream girl who kills James Gandolfini with a shotgun.” Here again, Tony Scott’s casting is right in sync with what Tarantino’s character requires, and Patricia Arquette brings an earnest presence to what could be a wish-fulfillment character.

16. Max Cherry – “Jackie Brown” (1997)
It’s a rare Tarantino character who is truly good, so this aging, idealistic bail bondsman played with reserved perfection by Robert Forster stands out as one of the few legit romantic heroes in a roster full of criminals and killers. Seemingly settled into a predictable life, Max is visibly shaken by Jackie Brown, and Forster effectively shows the collision between the calcification of age and the energy of a new love.

15. Marsellus Wallace – “Pulp Fiction” (1994)
The first shot of Ving Rhames as the LA crime boss in “Pulp Fiction” is a textbook example of an intriguing character setup. One simple detail (the band-aid, a piece of last-minute makeup work) hints at much more than dialogue can convey. Marsellus is great at making shady deals and ordering around goons like Jules and Vincent, but we’re left to wonder what’s really up with his marriage to Mia (they never speak). Some movie gangsters barely earn their screen time, but we’d watch a whole Marcellus movie in a snap.

14. Bill – “Kill Bill” (2003-4)
Only barely glimpsed in the first of the two movies bearing his name, Bill’s influence taints everything in Beatrix Kiddo’s life and death. His persona, the toxic ex revamped as a martial arts villain, doesn’t provide a typical action-movie punch, but is pitched just right for this story. David Carradine is an ideal choice for this abuser, and his showdown conversation with Beatrix is the most grand subversion in Tarantino’s ode to Hong Kong cinema.

13. Mr Pink – “Reservoir Dogs” (1992)
The motormouthed Ego of “Reservoir Dogs” is probably irritating to be around, but he also has a habit of spitting truth. Sure, the guy is selfish and abrasive —it’s like he’s really the author’s purest mouthpiece, with just a bit of dialogue broken off to make Tarantino’s character Mr. Brown— but you can’t fault his assessment of the situation, and it’s easy to root for him when he gets a chance to protect himself one last time at the end of the movie.

12. Hans Landa – “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) 
As an experiment in making a supremely awful person nauseatingly charming, this Nazi officer is a rousing success. Landa’s commitment to his terrible role in human history isn’t even the worst part —it’s that he knows he is choosing to do terrible things. Christoph Waltz hasn’t yet topped the fusion of script and performance achieved in this breakout performance.

11. Calvin Candie – “Django Unchained” (2013)
Tarantino’s affinity for truly nasty villains bears diseased fruit in the form of this slaver, and Leonardo DiCaprio gives Candie a rich persona —he’s susceptible to flattery, willing to play a long con in his own interests, and is an astoundingly sore loser AND winner. There’s no liking Candie, but there’s also no arguing that he’s anything but a fully-formed whole.