Leonardo DiCaprio sheds new light on Tarantino scene branded ‘one of the great pieces of acting’

Leonardo DiCaprio has revealed details about a pivotal scene in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," where his character, Rick Dalton, experiences a breakdown. Initially, Tarantino had envisioned the scene differently, focusing more on Dalton's Western series, Lancer. However, DiCaprio expressed a desire to explore the actor's ultimate fear: forgetting lines and facing a staring audience. DiCaprio described this fear as akin to "going to school in your underwear," a concept he wanted to bring to the screen. Tarantino was initially resistant to this change, as he had a specific vision for the scene, intending to include more of his planned Lancer content and extend the sequence. Despite his initial frustration with DiCaprio's suggestion making "perfect f***ing sense," Tarantino eventually conceded. The director rewrote the script to accommodate DiCaprio's idea and, uncharacteristically, allowed the actor significant room for improvisation. DiCaprio spent hours improvising, with Tarantino skillfully editing the footage together. The resulting scene, where Dalton melts down in his trailer due to his inability to remember his lines, was met with widespread a... download the app to read more