The ‘Reservoir Dogs’ role Dennis Hopper turned down: “I wanted to do it”
It’s indisputable that Reservoir Dogs changed the game when it emerged in 1992, swaggering onto our screens all suits and sunglasses. Quentin Tarantino burst onto the scene as a cinematic ‘enfant terrible’, a video store clerk with a desire to transform Hollywood in spite of a limited budget.
Reservoir Dogs marked his debut as a filmmaker, and instantly, people’s ears pricked up at the utterance of his name. It’s one you can’t forget, after all. Who was this passionate new director who’d managed to get big names like Harvey Keitel in his film? And why was the movie receiving so much attention?
When people saw it, the hype was immediately justified. Here was a stylish take on the heist film, with non-linear storytelling and large doses of chatty dialogue that really immersed you into the minds of these criminals.
With a cracking soundtrack of songs that instantly became associated with the film, from George Baker Selection’s ‘Little Green Bag’ to Stealers Wheels’ ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’, and plenty of shocking violence, Reservoir Dogs was like a sharp jolt of electricity through the veins of audiences, shaking everyone out of a blockbuster-fuelled stupor.
A stellar ensemble of actors made up the colour-themed clan of criminals, like Tim Roth as Mr Orange, Keitel as Mr White, and Michael Madsen as Mr Blonde, but there was one role that could’ve seen a Hollywood hellraiser join the group. Dennis Hopper, one of cinema’s most iconic troublemakers, a symbol of motorcycle freedom and drug-induced insanity, had given an unforgettable performance in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet a few years prior, a role that really revitalised his career, and soon he was back on top.
Keitel, who served as a co-producer, was interested in having Hopper play Mr Pink, a role that eventually went to Steve Buscemi. When Hopper read the script, he was impressed – he knew that this would be something special – but he just wasn’t able to commit because he already had other projects lined up. It was a shame, because Hopper certainly would’ve delivered a spectacular performance in the film, although, simultaneously, it’s hard to imagine anyone else in Buscemi’s place.
In conversation with Tarantino, Hopper told the director about his experience of watching the movie, explaining, “I saw it in Paris. Julian Schnabel took me to see it. He said, ‘You’ve got to see this movie.’ And Harvey Keitel had sent the script at one point for me to be in it.”
He continued, “I loved it, and I wanted to do it, but I had to do something else, so I went to see it with Julian, and it was wild seeing it in Paris, being an American, watching the film with the French. They were reacting, and it was wonderful and packed.”
Hopper would’ve fit right into the cast, but his schedule was incredibly packed, and while he might not have ever starred in a Tarantino-directed film, he did appear in 1993’s True Romance, which Tarantino had penned for Tony Scott to direct.
Never Miss A Take
The Far Out Quentin Tarantino Newsletter
All the latest Quentin Tarantino content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.