Tarantino, Quentin Jerome (1963- )

US film director and screenwriter. His films are characterized by a fragmented structure and often explicit violence. They include Reservoir Dogs (1992), his first feature; the cult classic Pulp Fiction (1994; Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and Academy Award for Best Screenplay); Jackie Brown (1997); and Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), which pay homage to the kung-fu genre.

He has played cameo roles in many of the films he directed, as well as playing a lead role in Dusk Till Dawn (1996). He wrote the screenplay of True Romance (1993) and the screen story of Natural Born Killers (1994), though he disowned Oliver Stone's completed film. He frequently collaborates with actors Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, and Uma Thurman. He directed Scottish actor Ewan McGregor in a critically acclaimed episode of the award-winning television series ER in 1994.

Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in Los Angeles. After dropping out of high school at the age of 15, he worked at a video shop for five years.