Quentin Tarantino is known for his strict approach to filmmaking, and he doesn’t make exceptions even for seasoned actors like Brad Pitt. During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival, Bruce Dern, father of actor Laura Dern, shared his experience working on Tarantino’s 2019 film Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. In the film, Dern plays George Spahn, a blind, elderly ranch owner.
The movie also features Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, the loyal stunt double of fading Western television actor Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Speaking to People magazine at Cannes, Dern recalled a moment during filming when he improvised a line for his character.
“When Brad Pitt wakes me up in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, I’m in the bed and I get up and I’m a little groggy and stuff and I just say, ‘I’m not really sure what’s going on,’” Dern said. “I’m looking at him. [Pitt] cut the camera. He cut the camera. The look on Quentin’s face — I mean, he was insanely grave — and he said, ‘Brad, what did you just do?’”
Dern continued, “He said, ‘Well, I cut the camera.’ He said, ‘Never again in your life will you ever cut a camera or you’ll be dead in this business. That’s my domain… So then we went on and did the scene and all Brad did was say to him, ‘Well, that wasn’t in the script what he said.’”
A source close to the collaborators shared with The Independent: “They have a great relationship and Tarantino is one of Brad’s favorite directors.” The two previously worked together on the director’s 2009 film Inglourious Basterds. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood went on to become a critical and commercial hit, and won Pitt a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.
Dern, meanwhile, is currently at Cannes promoting Dernsie, a documentary directed by Mike Mendez about the 89-year-old Oscar nominee’s life. The film features interviews with his daughter, Laura, and colleagues, including Tarantino, Alexander Payne, and Walton Goggins.
In an interview with Sight and Sound, Dern recalled his first conversation with the acclaimed director before he was cast in Django Unchained. “I’d never met him when he called me in and said, ‘Look, I’m doing this movie Django.’ You’re the icon of your generation.’ So I said, ‘Come on, if that was true, I’d be starring in movies.’ He said, ‘You starred in movies, but people never found them.’ And he said, ‘I love Tattoo [1981].’”
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