Quentin Tarantino’s ninth full-length film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, continues his string of widely acclaimed productions. It also has its share of controversy because of how it depicted a number of historical figures and late 1960s Hollywood. However, incredibly accomplished performances were given by Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and the rest of the cast.
Pitt won numerous accolades for his portrayal of Cliff Booth, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. But did you know that Cliff Booth almost was not played by him because another well-known actor was also under consideration?
Yes, Cliff Booth might have had a very different appearance, though, as another actor was in discussions to take on the role after Pitt refused to play the character.
Tom Cruise Almost Played Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s $377M Movie?
When the film was still in the early stages of pre-production, Quentin Tarantino approached Brad Pitt to star in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. A few months later, it came to light that Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio were also both under consideration for one of the lead roles.
Well, Pitt was ultimately chosen to play Cliff Booth, and their (DiCaprio and Pitt) on-screen chemistry helped to make the movie a big success.
Then, a few days prior to the release of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Tarantino discussed the possibility of casting Cruise. Speaking with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the filmmaker acknowledged that he had discussed it with the Top Gun star. But for finding the right actors to play Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth—his top choices were DiCaprio and Pitt respectively.
When asked if Cruise would think about taking on the Cliff role that Pitt was ultimately cast in, the director responded:
“We talked about it. He’s [Tom Cruise] a great guy and we really hit it off. [A collaboration] could happen on something else.”
The director went on to say that although Pitt and DiCaprio were really always going to star in the movie, he would have had to find other pairings if one of them did not work out.
“The reality is, was it always these two guys? It’s the casting coup of the decade. You can’t count on that. They both have to respond to it, they both have to want to play those roles, they both have to be available, there’s a whole lot of stuff there. And if you’re casting an actor, casting a team, where the one guy is a double of another guy then they have to match up in the right kind of way.”
Samuel L. Jackson Brutally Criticized Quentin Tarantino’s Film
Samuel L. Jackson rarely holds back when talking about the industry that helped him become a household name.
Last month, the acclaimed actor was candid and open about the lack of diversity in Quentin Tarantino’s comedy-drama film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood during an interview with Vulture.
Also note that Jackson has appeared in many of Tarantino’s films, including Pulp Fiction and The Hateful Eight, but he was not a cast member of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Thus, during his candid chat with Vulture, he pointed out that many other Black actors were not either in the 2019 film.
Although this can be partially explained by the era in which the movie was set, Jackson still had something to say:
“But when I saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, I mean, how many Black people are in that movie? Maybe three. It was kind of like watching Goodfellas. When I was in Goodfellas, it’s like me and somebody else.”
Moreover, Jackson did not comment on whether he will be in Tarantino’s upcoming The Movie Critic, which will be the filmmaker’s last film as a director.
Well, many people would like to see Tarantino and Jackson work together once again.
Even though he intends to stop making movies, he has expressed interest in other forms of art, mentioning in interviews that he might be able to direct plays or short television series.
A novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his debut book, was released in 2021.