Photo Credit: Getty Images
The actress, 56, opened up about the turbulent period preceding her career-defining 1994 role in Pulp Fiction during a new episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls on Tubi, revealing that a deeply unsettling experience on a previous set had left her seriously considering giving up acting entirely.
"I'd had a difficult work experience before I made that movie," Thurman told host Bear Grylls, 51, during a candid conversation in the wilderness. "I'd lost my way. I was thinking of quitting. I'd had a typical icky Hollywood experience."
She did not name names or elaborate on the nature of that experience, though Thurman has previously spoken publicly about being a victim of Harvey Weinstein's alleged abuse during that period of her career. In a 2018 New York Times profile, she described multiple incidents in which Weinstein forced himself on her at hotels in London and Paris.
What ultimately saved her was Quentin Tarantino and the script for Pulp Fiction, though even that was not a straightforward yes. Thurman admitted she hesitated before agreeing to take the role of Mia Wallace, the enigmatic wife of a crime boss who shares an iconic dance scene with John Travolta.
"Once I did Pulp Fiction and saw what real film and cinema was, I was like, 'Oh, I want to do this,'" she said.
The role earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and launched one of Hollywood's most celebrated careers, leading to her reunion with Tarantino on the two-part Kill Bill saga.
Thurman also reflected on a serious 2016 horse-riding accident that left her with a broken pelvis, broken ribs and damage to her back, requiring a wheelchair and extensive rehabilitation before she could walk again.
"I turned it into a reset that has been a steady build," she said.
She is next set to appear in the martial arts thriller Pretty Lethal.
