Back in the mid-1990s, Quentin Tarantino worked on a bit of a film oddity. It was a low-budget, black comedy anthology film called Four Rooms. Tarantino had just released Pulp Fiction, which made a staggering $200 million worldwide off of an $8 million budget. The film won Tarantino his first Oscar and launched him into the upper echelon of pop culture. In the case of Four Rooms, Tarantino partnered with some of his other filmmaker buddies, Alexandre Rockwell, Allison Anders, and Robert Rodriguez for this interesting, cameo-laden oddball adventure. Tarantino's segment in the film is the last one, "Penthouse - The Man From Hollywood," which features an uncredited cameo by none other than Bruce Willis. There are quite a few memorable appearances by notable talents throughout Four Rooms, such as Madonna in "The Secret Ingredient" and Antonio Banderas in "The Misbehavors," but Bruce Willis was probably the biggest star to appear in the film. It's time to take a look back at the unique endeavor that is Four Rooms.

The History of Quentin Tarantino and Bruce Willis' Professional Partnership

Before appearing in Four Rooms, Willis had recently worked as a featured player in Tarantino's breakout hit, Pulp Fiction, as the boxer Butch Coolidge. The movie gave Willis’ career a nice shot in the arm after a string of prolific bombs, such as Striking Distance and Color of Night. According to Vanity Fair's retrospective on the cinematic classic that was Pulp Fiction, Harvey Keitel helped get Willis involved in the film. Keitel, who plays the charismatic crime-scene cleaner, The Wolf, in the film, informed Willis about Tarantino's upcoming film. Willis was said to have been a huge fan of Tarantino's earlier film, Reservoir Dogs, and eager to work with the director. Apparently, Willis wanted to portray the role of Vincent Vega, but Tarantino had already promised that role to John Travolta.

The actor Tarantino originally had in mind for the part of boxer Butch Coolidge was Matt Dillon, but when Dillon didn’t commit quickly enough, it instead went to Willis, who took a pay cut for the role. The producers wanted a marketable star for the film, and the casting of Willis supported the film's foreign rights being sold for a net profit of their investment. As Tarantino told Vanity Fair, "Once I got Bruce Willis, Harvey [Weinstein] got his big movie star, and we were all good. Bruce Willis made us legit. Reservoir Dogs did fantastic internationally, so everyone was waiting for my new movie. And then when it was my new movie with Bruce Willis, they went apeshit."

Bruce Willis and Quentin Tarantino in Four Rooms
Image Via Miramax Films

Pulp Fiction was released in theaters in October 1994 and was a box office smash, grossing more than $200 million worldwide off of a mere $8.5 million budget. Willis' role as Butch Coolidge gave his career a nice reset in the mid-90s. That led to Willis' appearance in Four Rooms, which Tarantino made after Pulp Fiction came out. Despite being one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and the world at the time, Willis worked on the movie for free, as a favor to Tarantino and to have some fun. However, since Willis was not paid for his role, that violated the rules of the SAG union, so Willis did not receive a screen credit for his appearance.

Who Does Bruce Willis Play in 'Four Rooms'?

In the Four Rooms segment, "The Man From Hollywood," Willis portrays one of the friends of the fast-talking, silver-tongued director, Chester (Tarantino). When the film's protagonist, the put-upon bellhop Ted (Tim Roth), comes into the room, Leo is having an argument with his wife on the phone, who appears upset that Leo is not going to make it home on New Year's Eve, since he was out celebrating with Chester over the success of his movie "The Wacky Detective." By interpretation, Leo is more than likely a manager, agent, or business associate of Chester who is well aware of Chester's behavior and antics. It is Leo who helps explain that Chester and his friend Norman (Paul Calderon) are looking to re-enact the bet from Alfred Hitchcock Presents' "The Man From The South," with Peter Lorre and Steve McQueen. Under the terms of the bet, Norman, in the Steve McQueen role from the episode, has to light up his lighter 10 times, otherwise, he gets his pinky finger chopped off. If Norman wins, he gets Chester's classic 1964 red convertible. And Norman and Chester want Ted to be the one to use the hatchet.

RELATED: Bruce Willis Has Always Been More Than Just an Action Star

Ted is reluctant to participate in the ludicrous game, but Chester's gift of gab, plus the offer of $1,000 for one second of work, ultimately convinces him to participate. The game ends with Norman getting his pinky chopped off, Ted collecting his $1,000 and sauntering off, followed by the rest of the group scrambling with Norman to get him to the hospital as the credits start to roll. Leo is a small, understated role for Willis, who is more or less a background character and bystander to most of the action in the scene. Chester is the main center of attention in the segment as he rants and raves to Ted. Leo adds more to the overall ambiance of the sequence, showcasing a group of indulgent Hollywood people who have probably had too much to drink and think playing a game that will end in someone losing a finger is a good idea.

Quentin Tarantino, Tim Roth, and Bruce Willis in Four Rooms
Image Via Miramax Films

The Fate of 'Four Rooms'

Four Rooms was a critical and box office flop, the first and only one of Tarantino's career. However, it's still an interesting film to look back on and study, due to all the prolific names involved. Rodriguez, who directed the segment, "The Misbehavors," would go on to have a prominent career and be a recurring collaborator of Tarantino, and later Willis. The film was released shortly after Rodriguez and Banderas' film, Desperado, was released in theaters and became a hit. The film's opening segment, "The Missing Ingredient," features no less than Madonna, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor, and Alicia Witt portraying a coven of witches. Roth, who had already worked with Tarantino multiple times and would continue to have a long and prominent acting career, recently reprised his role as Emil Blonksy/Abomination in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. He’d continue to work again with Tarantino over the years, including appearing in The Hateful Eight and Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, though his scenes in the latter were cut.

Ironically, this movie was the last time Tarantino would direct Willis. Despite the success of Pulp Fiction, their paths would not cross again until, technically, 2005's Sin City, which was directed by Rodriguez. Sin City was also an anthology-type film, though not at all similar to Four Rooms. Tarantino served as a special "guest director" for one scene in the film. However, Tarantino did not direct any scenes in Willis’ segments, "The Yellow Bastard" Parts I and II. The last official collaboration between Willis and Tarantino was the 2007 double-feature combo movie, Grindhouse, their combined ode to low-budget grindhouse cinema. While Willis does not appear in Tarantino's portion of the Grindhouse double-feature, Death Proof, Tarantino did produce the double-feature. Also, Tarantino appears as one of the villainous soldiers in service to Willis' character, Lieutenant Muldoon, in the Rodriguez portion, Planet Terror.

Four Rooms is arguably not a cinematic masterpiece, but it's a fascinating film to examine and revisit, especially for cinephiles and lovers of obscure cinema. It's also interesting to look back at the prolific actors who found success working with Tarantino but did not necessarily work with him much again throughout their careers. These days, it's rare to see an anthology film, especially with such prolific names as Rodriguez and Tarantino involved. Willis' appearance is also symbolic of big-name actors who will take a pay cut or work for scale for a cameo or appearance in the work of a friend's film.