Quentin Tarantino has a thing for faces. He doesn't just hire actors; he excavates them. When you look at who is in Kill Bill, you aren't just looking at a call sheet. You're looking at a carefully curated museum of exploitation cinema, martial arts history, and 1970s grit. It’s been over twenty years since Vol. 1 hit theaters, and honestly, the ensemble still feels like lightning in a bottle. You've got Uma Thurman, obviously, but the depth of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad is what makes the whole "Roaring 20s" revenge plot actually stick the landing.
Most people remember the yellow tracksuit. They remember the blood spraying like a lawn sprinkler in the House of Blue Leaves. But the casting is where the magic really lives. Tarantino famously wrote the role of The Bride specifically for Uma Thurman as a birthday present, and that shorthand between director and muse is palpable in every frame. It’s a heavy lift. She has to be a grieving mother, a stone-cold killer, and a vulnerable human being all at once.
The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad: A Breakdown of the Killers
The core of the "who" in these movies is the DiVAS. This isn't your standard group of movie henchmen. Each one represents a different flavor of cinema.
Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii is probably the standout for many. Her backstory—presented in that gorgeous, haunting Production I.G. anime sequence—gives her a weight that most villains never get. Liu plays her with this terrifying, quiet stillness. When she decapitates Boss Tanaka for questioning her "Chinese-Japanese-American" heritage, it isn't just a gore beat. It’s a character statement. She was the first major name on The Bride's "Death List Five," and she set a high bar for everyone who followed.
Then there’s Vivica A. Fox as Vernita Green, aka Copperhead. The kitchen fight in the beginning of Vol. 1 is arguably the most "realistic" fight in the series. It’s messy. It’s domestic. They break coffee tables and hide behind cereal boxes. Fox brings a desperate, protective energy to the role that makes you almost feel bad for her, even though she helped massacre a wedding party. Almost.
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The Gritty Soul of Vol. 2
While the first movie is a neon-soaked fever dream, Vol. 2 gets dusty and talky. This is where Michael Madsen and Daryl Hannah really get to chew the scenery.
Madsen plays Budd (Sidewinder), Bill’s brother who has fallen on hard times. He’s working as a bouncer in a strip club and living in a gross trailer. It’s a far cry from the sleek assassins in Tokyo. Madsen has this gravelly, "I’ve given up" vibe that makes him the most dangerous person in the movie because he has nothing left to lose.
On the flip side, you have Elle Driver. Daryl Hannah is pure, unadulterated venom. The California Mountain Snake is the only one who doesn't seem to have a shred of remorse or honor. Her fight with Beatrix in that cramped trailer is a masterpiece of "dirty" fighting—hair pulling, eye-gouging, and toilet-dunking.
The Man Behind the Flute: David Carradine
We can't talk about who is in Kill Bill without talking about Bill himself. For the longest time, Tarantino considered casting Warren Beatty. Can you imagine? It would have been a completely different movie. Instead, he went with David Carradine, the legend from Kung Fu.
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Carradine’s voice is the secret weapon of the sequel. He’s charming, paternal, and absolutely monstrous. When he delivers that monologue about Superman and Clark Kent, you realize Bill isn't just a villain. He’s a philosopher who happens to be a world-class killer. Carradine hadn't had a role this meaty in decades, and he absolutely crushed it. It’s a performance defined by nuance rather than shouting.
The Legends of Martial Arts Cinema
Tarantino is a nerd. A massive, obsessive cinema nerd. He didn't just cast famous Americans; he reached out to the icons who inspired the genre.
- Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanzo: This was a massive deal for martial arts fans. Chiba is a legend (The Street Fighter). Seeing him play a retired sword-smith who now just makes sushi and yells at his assistant was a brilliant bit of meta-casting.
- Gordon Liu as Pei Mei: This is a fun one. Gordon Liu actually plays two roles. In Vol. 1, he’s Johnny Mo, the leader of the Crazy 88. In Vol. 2, he’s the legendary, white-bearded master Pei Mei. If you’ve seen old Shaw Brothers movies like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, you know why his presence is so significant.
- Chiaki Kuriyama as Gogo Yubari: She was only 17 or 18 when they filmed, but she became an instant icon. The schoolgirl outfit paired with a meteor hammer is peak Tarantino. She actually hit Tarantino with the ball on accident during filming, which is a fun bit of trivia.
The Supporting Players You Forgot
There are so many "Oh, that person!" moments in these films. Michael Parks is incredible as Earl McGraw (a character he also played in From Dusk Till Dawn and Grindhouse) and later as the pimp Esteban Vihaio in Vol. 2. He’s a chameleon.
Then there’s Julie Dreyfus as Sofie Fatale. She’s the one who loses an arm and gets rolled down a hill. Dreyfus is actually a fixture in Japanese media in real life, which added another layer of authenticity to the Tokyo scenes. And let’s not forget Samuel L. Jackson’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo as Rufus the organ player at the wedding.
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Why This Specific Cast Worked
Basically, the reason people still ask about the cast of Kill Bill is because it feels like a "Greatest Hits" album of 20th-century cool. It wasn't about who was the biggest box office draw at the moment. It was about who fit the vibe.
Tarantino has a knack for reviving careers. Before this, John Travolta was a memory; after Pulp Fiction, he was a god. With Kill Bill, he did that for Carradine and Madsen. He took people we thought we knew and threw them into a hyper-violent, stylized world where they could be larger than life.
It’s also worth noting how diverse the cast was for 2003. You had a female lead, a heavily international supporting cast, and two of the main antagonists were women of color. It didn't feel like "diversity for the sake of diversity," though. It felt like the world of international assassination should look—global, messy, and eclectic.
The Mystery of BB
The casting of Perla Haney-Jardine as BB, the daughter of Beatrix and Bill, was a crucial pivot point for the emotional weight of the finale. If that kid wasn't believable, the whole ending would have felt hollow. She had to have that "killer's eyes" look while still being an innocent kid watching Shogun Assassin in bed.
How to Explore the Kill Bill Universe Further
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of the actors and the influences that shaped this cast, here is how you should actually spend your time. Don't just rewatch the movies—look at what the actors did before and after to see the DNA of their performances.
- Watch "The Street Fighter" (1974): If you want to see why Sonny Chiba is a god, start here. You'll see the raw intensity he brought to the Hanzo role, minus the sushi-making jokes.
- Check out "Lady Snowblood": This Japanese film was the primary inspiration for O-Ren Ishii’s character. When you see the visual parallels, it’ll blow your mind.
- Listen to the David Carradine interviews: There are several long-form interviews where he discusses the "Superman" speech. It gives you a lot of insight into how he viewed Bill's twisted logic.
- Look for the "Lost" Scenes: There is a famous cut sequence involving Bill fighting a character played by Michael Jai White. It’s on YouTube and shows a totally different, more physical side of Bill that didn't make the final cut.
- Track the "Tarantino-verse": Research how characters like Earl McGraw link Kill Bill to Death Proof and Planet Terror. It’s a fun rabbit hole that shows how the director treats his actors like a repertory theater company.
The cast of Kill Bill isn't just a list of names; it's a map of Tarantino's brain. From the Shaw Brothers to 70s Westerns, every person on screen is there to evoke a specific feeling or a specific era of film history. That's why, twenty years later, we're still talking about them. They aren't just characters. They’re icons.