John Travolta Landed 'Pulp Fiction' After Going Over Quentin Tarantino's Finances

John Travolta's proving financial know-how can pay off big ... claiming he looked over Quentin Tarantino's finances when they first met -- and it changed his career.

The legendary actor told the story during Turner Classic Movies' recent event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the cult classic ... with Travolta joined by Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Tarantino and more at the event.

As JT explains  ... his agent told him QT was a big fan and wanted to meet with him, and John decided to head over to Quentin's place for the big first impression.

The day got off to a pretty weird start ... John says he knocked on the front door and realized he used to live in Quentin's apartment -- perfectly describing the pad's layout.

From there, the two played board games based on Travolta's iconic film roles ... and Tarantino asked him to drop random lines like his characters from the flicks during the game. Another pretty out there request.

Before making a decision on whether he wanted to work with Tarantino, Travolta asked to look over his ledgers ... and, he say they chatted about money for a bit.

Welp, turns it out it was the right move ... 'cause Quentin called days later and offered him the Vincent Vega part in the film.

John says when he asked why Tarantino wanted him for the role, Quentin said it's because of the philosophical way he ruminated over the finances ... displaying characteristics he wanted in the Vega character.

BTW ... many people credit 'Pulp' for energizing Travolta's career. The dude made some pretty bad movies in the late '80s/early '90s, and it sorta seemed like his star might wane at the time before "Pulp Fiction" put him back in A-List status.