Five actors who likely regret rejecting Quentin Tarantino
As one of the best writers in the business with two Academy Awards and an endless amount of memorable quotes to show for it, there aren’t many actors in the business who’d turn the chance to wrap their laughing gear around dialogue scripted by Quentin Tarantino.
It isn’t something that comes around all that often, but it can’t help but be pointed out that the most notable folks to turn him down flat still haven’t appeared in one of his movies. After all, when Tarantino finds an actor he likes, he tends to make a point of working with them again, sometimes repeatedly.
Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Samuel L. Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, and Christoph Waltz are just a few of the stars who made more than one feature with the iconic auteur, and a couple of them stepped into parts that were intended for somebody else.
With only one film left before he calls it quits and retires, it looks as though the ship might have sailed for the stars who turned him down ever getting the chance to play in Tarantino’s sandbox, a decision they may come to rue for the remainder of their careers.
Five actors who rejected Quentin Tarantino:
5. Sylvester Stallone
It’s already been mentioned that not a lot of established thespians would reject Tarantino once, but Sylvester Stallone did it twice a decade apart. He was up for the Louis Gara that was played by Robert De Niro in Jackie Brown and he was the filmmaker’s first choice to headline Death Proof.
The action cinema legend said no on both counts, and it’s an opportunity that may not come around again. Jackie Brown released the same year as his acclaimed turn in Cop Land, and if he’d done both, then maybe he could have embarked on that reinvention as a serious dramatic actor, which could have materialised but never did.
Instead, Stallone ended up remaining firmly in his wheelhouse, and the prospect of him playing Russell’s maniacal role in Death Proof would have made for a completely different film. The high-speed slasher leaned into its leading man’s baggage to wonderful effect, but instead of Snake Plissken, it could have been Rocky Balboa and John Rambo.
4. Viggo Mortensen
Almost 20 years after he’d unsuccessfully auditioned for Reservoir Dogs, Viggo Mortensen was being eyed for The Hateful Eight, only for scheduling conflicts to throw up an insurmountable obstacle.
The Lord of the Rings veteran admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that “it would have been really, really fun to collaborate” with Tarantino, but it wasn’t to be. There’s no word on the specifics of what part he could have played, but Mortensen is versatile enough that it literally could have been anyone.
The Hateful Eight was filled with Tarantino veterans like Tim Roth, Bruce Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins, and Michael Madsen, but some new blood would have given it an additionally unpredictable shot in the arm.
3. Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler has called himself a close friend of the director’s for many years, and Donny ‘The Bear Jew’ Donowitz in Inglourious Basterds was written specifically for him to play.
In another case of being ships in the night, the comedy heavyweight found himself unable to commit, and he’s still waiting for his chance to pitch up to a Tarantino set and remind everyone of his acting prowess when he’s not indulging his typical shtick.
It would be fair to say Eli Roth’s performance was not great, and with Sandler having proven his impressive dramatic abilities several times over in the years since, one of the worst-acted characters in Inglourious Basterds could have been one of the best, especially when it was penned with him in mind.
2. Will Smith
One of the most famous what-ifs of Tarantino’s filmography came when Will Smith passed on the title role in Django Unchained, with the former Fresh Prince citing the slavery angle as one of the reasons why he passed.
Ironically, after Jamie Foxx embodied the charismatic gunslinger instead, Smith would go on to make a much lesser film on the same subject that a vastly smaller number of people saw when he teamed with Antoine Fuqua on Emancipation.
Smith has always struggled to strike the perfect balance between his undeniable star wattage and the determination to prove himself as a dramatic force, and Django Unchained would have been the ideal vehicle to give him – and audiences – the best of both worlds if he wasn’t so reluctant.
1. Jennifer Lawrence
Last but not least, Jennifer Lawrence was the front-runner for Daisy Domergue in The Hateful Eight, with Tarantino a known fan of her work. When she was unable to free up the time in her calendar, she was replaced by Jennifer Jason Leigh, who is almost 30 years her senior and ended up landing an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ in the bargain.
It wouldn’t have been too difficult to imagine her playing Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, either. Still, by the time that screenplay was nearing completion, Margot Robbie had already wandered into Tarantino’s mind’s eye as the blonde-haired object of his affection.
They’ve come close to collaborating several times, but unless she ends up with a role in his tenth and final film, Lawrence could end up kicking herself that she missed out on the chance to make waves in a Tarantino flick.
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