Quentin Tarantino: ‘Everyone wanted Brad Pitt’s role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’

Every leading man in Hollywood wanted Brad Pitt’s role as carefree stunt double Cliff Booth in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, according to director Quentin Tarantino.
The filmmaker, who previously worked with the star on Inglourious Basterds, reveals several actors were after the part, with the exception of Leonardo DiCaprio, who always wanted to portray washed-up TV star Rick Dalton in the film.
“Everyone wanted to play Cliff,” Tarantino tells Entertainment Weekly. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Leo as an actor (because) he wanted to play Cliff, but he knew he was better for Rick.
“He’s just better. I could see him as the star of a TV show. And, also, most stunt guys that are teamed up with actors, are usually 10 years older than the actor.”
The rest of the star-studded cast includes Margot Robbie, who plays real-life actress Sharon Tate, Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, Margaret Qualley, Luke Perry, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, and the late Luke Perry.
Tarantino admits he had no idea if he’d be able to snag stars of Pitt and his Django Unchained villain DiCaprio’s calibre.
“I really did not know if I was going to get, like, the greatest casting coup of the century,” the director explains. “I hoped it would work out with those guys, but… I couldn’t count on that.”