The role of Vincent was initially written as Vic, and Michael Madsen was going to reprise his role. But he had a conflict with another film, so the character was rewritten as his brother. The role rescued the career of John Travolta, who most people doubted could play a heroin addict gangster hitman type before he showed them how to do it and was nominated for an Oscar for his performance. L.A. times critic Kenneth Turan thought that "Travolta ends up being more memorable [then Jackson] only because his work is more of a surprise. His Vincent Vega is all sleepy boyishness and drug-mellowed bemusement, and seeing him so charming in the unexpected guise of a minor league thug is to remember why audiences fell in love with him in the first plac