Tarantino Reveals the Fate and Backstory of Pulp Fiction's Gimp

Writer-director Quentin Tarantino reveals in a new interview what happened to (and his own backstory for) one of Pulp Fiction's most notorious side characters, the Gimp. SPOILERS ahead for Pulp Fiction! [poilib element="accentDivider"] Dressed head-to-toe in leather bondage gear, the mute Gimp (portrayed by Steve Hibbert) is the S&M slave imprisoned in the basement of Maynard's pawn shop where a bound and gagged Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) and Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) are held captive. The Gimp is present when Maynard and security guard Zed rape Marsellus and then when Butch frees Marsellus. In a fan Q&A with Empire, Tarantino revealed his backstory for the Gimp and what happened to him after Butch left. (I think we all can imagine what "medieval" fate was in store for Zed). "It doesn’t quite play this way in the movie, but in my mind when I wrote it, the Gimp’s dead. Butch knocked him out and then when he passed out he hung himself," Tarantino revealed. The filmmaker, who won his first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for 1995's Pulp Fiction, went on to dish on who the Gimp really was and why he was chosen by Maynard and Zed. "In terms of backstory, he was like a hitchhiker or somebody that they picked up seven years ago, and they trained him so he’s the perfect victim," Tarantino said. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=quentin-tarantinos-most-notable-abandoned-or-delayed-projects&captions=true"] So what do you think of Tarantino's Gimp revelations? Let us know in the comments. And for more on Quentin Tarantino, read up on that time he played an Elvis impersonator on The Golden Girls as well as what he had to say about making a Star Trek movie and a Bounty Law TV series inspired by his film Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood.