‘Kill Bill’: Uma Thurman Didn’t Want to Wear the Yellow Tracksuit for 1 ‘Anxious’ Reason
Actor Uma Thurman didn’t have the easiest time with the costuming in Quentin Tarantino‘s Kill Bill. The film sports some iconic imagery, but oftentimes performers endure unpleasant conditions to pull it off for the camera. Thurman had an “anxiety” based reason for why she didn’t want to wear the legendary Kill Bill tracksuit. However, she still pulled it off.
Uma Thurman plays the iconic Bride in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’
Kill Bill follows a character not initially named, simply called The Bride (Thurman). The former assassin wakes up from a 4-year-long coma after her ex-lover, Bill (David Carradine), tried to kill her. However, she plans on getting revenge on those who exacted these crimes against her and her unborn child. The Bride creates a hit list to begin taking them out one at a time.
Tarantino split the saga into two volumes. Thurman’s The Bride in Kill Bill instantly became a classic, with her yellow tracksuit becoming the biggest piece of imagery. Fans immediately associate it with the Crazy 88 fight sequence, which finds The Bride hacking and slashing her opponents against incredible odds.
Uma Thurman opened up about her ‘anxiety’ wearing the yellow tracksuit
The Graham Norton Show interviewed Kill Bill star Thurman. She opened up about her experience working on Tarantino’s set. In particular, Thurman talked about how she didn’t want to wear the yellow tracksuit for one specific “anxiety” based reason.
“I really didn’t want to wear the yellow tracksuit,” Thurman said. “I had just had my son and anyone that has just had a baby is not going to want to wear a skin-tight onesie, they would have a lot of anxiety. So, there was a lot of training, a lot of work, and a lot of brilliant costume work [to] recreate the look of Bruce Lee while covering my belly.”
A lot of work goes into making such costumes read well on the screen. In this case, Tarantino wanted to go with a Lee-inspired appearance. However, that required Thurman to wear a skin-tight costume during a time when she didn’t feel the most confident after childbirth. Nevertheless, she pushed through for the sake of the film.
‘Kill Bill’ continues to inspire popular culture
Tarantino took inspiration for Kill Bill from grindhouse movies of yesteryear. Critics and audiences instantly fell in love with the film’s B-movie aesthetic. As a result, a wave of movies tried to emulate its success. Thurman’s yellow tracksuit in Kill Bill is an instantly recognizable piece of cinema history that will continue to persevere.
Tarantino plans on retiring after his next film. However, he hasn’t made an announcement regarding the details of that project as of yet. There are some rumors regarding a possible Kill Bill 3, which could potentially see Thurman’s real-life daughter, Maya, take the mantle. Stay tuned for more information.
