In Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, who plays Jules Winnfield?

Samuel L. Jackson plays Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.

Jules is one half of the film’s philosophical hitman duo, alongside Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta. The pair work for Los Angeles crime boss Marsellus Wallace and retrieve a mysterious briefcase at the beginning of the story. Jules’s conversations about fate, violence, and a biblical quotation form some of the film’s most recognizable scenes.

Jackson’s performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The role became a defining part of his career and helped establish his reputation as an actor capable of combining menace, humor, and intense verbal delivery.

A common mix-up is assigning Jules to Travolta because Travolta’s Vincent is equally prominent and shares many scenes with him. Their characters are distinct: Jackson is Jules, while Travolta is Vincent. Pulp Fiction interweaves their story with several other episodes rather than presenting events chronologically.