Quentin Tarantino fans everywhere have reason to celebrate today, as it was on this date exactly 20 years ago that the writer/director’s kung fu epic Kill Bill Vol. 1 arrived in theaters. It’s a movie that has a rich legacy as one of the best movies of the 2000s, and there are many wonderful behind-the-scenes stories, but there’s one fun bit of trivia that I only learned about recently, and it concerns a dual role played by one of the film’s special makeup effects artists.
Earlier this month, I interviewed SFX veteran Christopher Allen Nelson about his work on the new film The Exorcist: Believer, and I made a special point of spending time at the end of our conversation discussing his work on Kill Bill. In addition to doing makeup effects for both halves of the Tarantino film, Nelson also plays the role of Tommy Plympton – the man whom Uma Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo a.k.a. The Bride tries to marry at the start of Vol. 2. I inquired about how he landed the on-screen role, and he fondly reminisced about how terrific the blood-soaked production was. Said Nelson,
Kill Bill was one of the best experiences of my entire career, and it remains one of the highlights of my career to this day. To work with Quentin Tarantino, I was so lucky, and the effects, you know, we went through what, 350 gallons of blood on that movie, I think. But to do the effects and then to end up being in the film, it’s a huge highlight of my career.
Recounting the story, Chris Nelson told me that the idea that he would play The Groom to Uma Thurman’s The Bride came up when the Kill Bill production was taking a break after many months filming abroad. When the filmmaker and his colleagues at KNB EFX Group were planning out what would become known as the Massacre at Two Pines, it was acknowledged that the husband-to-be role had not been cast, and Nelson’s name was thrown out as an option:
How it ended up happening was I was doing the effects on it. We had shot in China for about four months. We came back to Los Angeles on a hiatus. We had a meeting about some of the effects that were coming up. One of the characters was Tommy the groom, who meets a very horrific demise. And the people I was working for, which was KNB EFX Group, said, ‘You know, Chris is an actor.’ Because I had been dabbling in acting at that time ’cause I was a huge Lon Cheney fan. Lon Cheney did his own makeup and was an actor.
Nelson has done plenty of on-screen work since Kill Bill, with roles in films including Hostel, Inherent Vice and 2018’s Halloween, but he didn’t have any acting credits to his name at that time.
Continuing, the special effects make-up artist/performer said that Quentin Tarantino didn’t immediately dismiss the idea, but he said that an audition would be required. Nelson would have been happy to just have that opportunity, but he ended up winning the part:
[Quentin Tarantino] looked at me and he said, ‘Oh, you look like you could be the guy, but you gotta audition because the role’s too big.’ And I said, ‘I’ll be happy with an audition!’ So I went and auditioned and did my best, and I was happy with that. I was done. I was like, ‘Ok, I auditioned for Quentin Tarantino. Not many people can say that.’ But how I ended up getting the role, I have no idea. Maybe because I’m a simple guy and that character is a simple guy.
Christopher Nelson was thrilled to get the role of the ill-fated Tommy Plympton – who notably shares a scene with both the brilliant Uma Thurman and David Carridine in Kill Bill Vol. 2 – but he recalls being filled with anxiety when they were actually filming. Said Nelson,
I ended up getting that role, and it was a nerve-wracking experience to be on set in front of the camera with the entire crew that I had been working with for six months behind the camera staring at me ready to see what I had as far as my acting chops. So it was a great experience.
If you wish to celebrate Kill Bill’s special birthday, the film isn’t currently available to stream on any subscription services, but it is easily accessible. You can watch it via digital rental or purchase from sites including Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, and Apple, and the movie was also recently re-released on Blu-ray. Sadly, there is still no word about a wide release of the full Kill Bill experience, known as Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair.
Christopher Nelson most recent work can now be seen on the big screen in The Exorcist: Believer, and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the coming days for more from my interview.