49 Fun Facts About Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Who plays fading TV cowboy Rick Dalton in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Leonardo DiCaprio took a cut in his usual fee to work with Tarantino again, seven years after he played the villain of Django Unchained.

Which TV Western series made Rick Dalton a star in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Bounty Law cast Rick as the bounty hunter Jake Cahill. To get inside his head, Tarantino wrote five complete half-hour episodes of the invented series.

Which real Steve McQueen series was Rick Dalton's TV show modeled on?

Wanted Dead or Alive made Steve McQueen's name on the small screen. He then made the leap to film stardom, which is exactly where Rick's own career stalled.

What is the name of Cliff Booth's pit bull in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Brandy earns her dinner in the finale: on Cliff's command she brings down two of the three armed intruders in Rick's house.

In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which rumor about Cliff Booth keeps stunt coordinators from hiring him?

He killed his wife, the story goes. The film shows only a boat, a quarrel and a speargun, but Tarantino's own later retelling of the story says outright that he did it.

Which real TV Western is Rick shooting as the guest villain in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Lancer was a real series, and its pilot's real director, Sam Wanamaker, is a character here. Tarantino shot his version like a lavish feature, in a way no TV crew of 1969 could have.

Which young star of the sitcom American Housewife plays Trudi Fraser in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Julia Butters plays the girl who takes her craft far more seriously than Rick takes his, and whose praise after their big scene gives him his confidence back.

Who plays Rick's agent Marvin Schwarz in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Al Pacino, in a part written for him. Marvin warns Rick that playing the heavy who loses the fight every week is ruining his name, while in Italy he could be the lead again.

Which real Italian director, maker of the original Django, gives Rick the lead in Nebraska Jim?

Sergio Corbucci made the 1966 Django that inspired Tarantino's own Django Unchained, in which the first film's star, Franco Nero, turns up for a cameo.

Rick returns from Europe in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with what?

An Italian wife, the starlet Francesca Capucci. The actor who thought Italian Westerns were beneath him also comes back with a string of Italian films to his name.

Who plays Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Margot Robbie read Roman Polanski's autobiography to prepare but never contacted him, and Tate's sister Debra lent her some of Sharon's own jewelry to wear on screen.

Which of her own films does Sharon Tate slip into a theater to watch in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

The Wrecking Crew. The woman up on the screen is the real Sharon Tate, in the 1968 film's own footage; Tarantino based the scene on the day he talked his way into True Romance at the same theater.

The title Once Upon a Time in Hollywood salutes which Italian director's own 'Once Upon a Time' films?

Sergio Leone made Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in America. Tarantino also wanted the phrase's fairy-tale promise, because his 1969 ends more happily than the real one did.

Which Australian actor played Charles Manson in both Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Netflix's Mindhunter in 2019?

Damon Herriman is on screen only briefly. The film refuses to build Manson up: as one critic put it, it reduces the most notorious figure in the story to a cameo.

Which previous tenant is Charles Manson looking for when he turns up at the Polanski house?

Music producer Terry Melcher had already moved out. The visit really happened, though the man who sent Manson away that day was not Jay Sebring, as it is in the film.

What is the nickname of the hitchhiking Manson girl whom Cliff drives to Spahn Ranch?

Pussycat is sized up by the soundtrack: when Cliff first spots her, the radio plays Mrs. Robinson, the song written for The Graduate and its affair between an older and a younger lover.

Who plays ranch owner George Spahn in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a role Burt Reynolds died before filming?

Bruce Dern stepped in for his late friend Burt Reynolds, who got as far as a rehearsal and a script reading. A line Reynolds suggested stayed in the film: that Cliff is pretty for a stunt guy.

At Spahn Ranch in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, what does Cliff make Clem do for sabotaging his car?

Change the flat tire, after a beating. The ranch girls send for Tex, who is out riding with customers, and he gallops back just too late to stop Cliff driving away.

Who plays "Squeaky" Fromme, George Spahn's caretaker, in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Dakota Fanning plays the follower who stands guard at the old man's door. Six years after that summer, the real Squeaky Fromme pointed a pistol at President Gerald Ford.

Who plays Tex Watson, leader of the raid on Cielo Drive, in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Austin Butler's Tex announces, 'I'm the Devil, and I'm here to do the Devil's business.' The real Watson said those words to his victims; here he says them to Cliff, which goes badly for him.

Near the end of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, what are Rick and Cliff out drinking to?

A farewell: Rick can no longer afford Cliff's wages, so the two settle on one last proper drunk together at Casa Vega, a real Mexican restaurant in the San Fernando Valley.

What does Cliff Booth smoke before walking his dog on the final night?

An acid-laced cigarette, bought from a hippie girl at a traffic light. He lights it with the words 'And away we go', the line that starts the climax of Tarantino's Jackie Brown.

In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, what does Sadie blame for teaching her generation to kill?

Television. Every show she grew up on except I Love Lucy was about murder, she argues, so they should turn on the TV cowboy who just yelled at them: 'My idea is to kill the people who taught us to kill!'

What does Flowerchild do as the Manson killers reach Rick Dalton's street?

Drives off, taking the car and leaving the other three on foot. She stands in for Linda Kasabian, the real lookout that night, who later gave evidence against the rest of the Family.

What does Rick use to kill Sadie in his pool at the end of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

A stunt flamethrower, kept from Rick's war film The 14 Fists of McCluskey, is what he fetches from his pool shed to burn Sadie after she staggers into the water.

Which real 1963 film is Rick Dalton digitally inserted into, in Steve McQueen's role?

The Great Escape. Tarantino wanted his 1969 rebuilt without computer imagery, but dropping Rick into the real film, in the part he says he nearly landed, was one place where only digital effects would do.

Which real Hollywood restaurant, open since 1919, hosts Rick's lunch with agent Marvin Schwarz?

Musso & Frank Grill was a must-have location for Tarantino, who said he felt lucky that a place like it still exists exactly as it has always been.

Which fictional cigarette brand, a Tarantino-universe staple, does Rick Dalton advertise in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's closing commercial?

Red Apple cigarettes, the fictional brand seen in Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, star in the commercial that runs with the credits: Rick praises them on camera, then complains about the taste once the take ends.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was Tarantino's first film made without which producers?

Bob and Harvey Weinstein had backed him for his whole career. He cut ties after the 2017 abuse allegations against Harvey, and his next script went up for auction among the studios.

Which studio won the bidding war to release Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Sony Pictures won by agreeing to steep terms, among them final cut and a $95 million budget. It helped that Tarantino remembered how well Sony had handled Django Unchained abroad.

Where did Once Upon a Time in Hollywood have its world premiere in May 2019?

The Cannes Film Festival, 25 years after Pulp Fiction won its top prize there. Tarantino had to race to be ready: he shoots on 35mm film, which takes longer to edit than digital.

Which actor, who died in March 2019, makes his final film appearance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Luke Perry, who died after a stroke that month, plays Wayne Maunder, a real star of the Western that Rick guest-stars on. The finished film is dedicated to his memory.

Which craft Oscar did Once Upon a Time in Hollywood win?

Production Design, won by Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh. Tarantino wanted 1969 back without computer imagery, so storefronts, signs and theater marquees were rebuilt on the real streets.

Which cast member won an Oscar for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Brad Pitt. After decades as a leading man, his first Oscar for acting came for a supporting part, as a stunt double who lives in the shadow of his star.

At which famous Los Angeles address does Sharon Tate dance at a party early in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

The Playboy Mansion, where Steve McQueen looks on as she dances. It is a knowing cheat: the house did not become the Playboy Mansion until 1971, two years after the film is set.

Rick Dalton's Cadillac matches the one Michael Madsen's character drives in which earlier Tarantino film?

Reservoir Dogs, where Michael Madsen's Mr. Blonde drove one. Tarantino likes to thread his films together this way, and Madsen himself turns up here as a sheriff in Rick's old TV show.

Tarantino conceived Once Upon a Time in Hollywood while watching Kurt Russell and his stunt double on which film?

Death Proof. Russell had worked with the same double, John Casino, for years, and Tarantino sensed he was watching one of the last jobs the two would ever do together.

Who plays celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Emile Hirsch plays Jay Sebring, who was murdered beside Sharon Tate in the real 1969. Here he lives to stroll down the drive and invite Rick up to the house for a drink.

In 2021 Tarantino retold Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as what?

A novel. It deals with the film's famous ending briefly, near the start, and closes instead on a quiet phone call between Rick and his young co-star, a scene cut from the film.

Which director was hired in 2025 to helm the Cliff Booth sequel written by Tarantino?

David Fincher, the director of Se7en and Fight Club. Tarantino sold the script to Netflix instead of directing it himself, as he did early in his career with scripts such as True Romance.

Which country cancelled the release of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood a week before it was due to open there?

China pulled the film in October 2019. Tarantino, whose contract gives him final cut, would not re-edit the Bruce Lee fight, which Lee's daughter had reportedly asked the country's regulators to have changed.

In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, what makes Rick rage at himself after a take on the Western set?

Forgetting his lines. None of it was in the original script: having Rick dry up mid-scene was the actor's own suggestion on set, and the furious tirade that follows was improvised.

In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Cliff fights Bruce Lee on the set of which TV series?

The Green Hornet, in which Lee played the masked sidekick Kato. His daughter Shannon objected to the scene, saying it made her father come across as arrogant and full of hot air.

In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which book does Sharon Tate buy for Roman Polanski at the Larry Edmunds Bookshop?

Tess of the d'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy. In real life Tate gave Polanski a copy shortly before her death, and he went on to film it as Tess (1979), which he dedicated to her.

Where does Cliff Booth live in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

In a trailer behind a drive-in, the Van Nuys. The real one had been demolished long before, so the production filmed the scene at a surviving drive-in elsewhere in the Los Angeles area.

What is Cliff Booth's own car, the one he drives home each night in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

A Karmann Ghia, a blue Volkswagen convertible. It is a deliberate echo: the same model in the same color that Uma Thurman's Bride drives in Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 2.

Who plays Janet, wife and fellow stunt coordinator of Kurt Russell's Randy, in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Zoë Bell is a real stuntwoman, Uma Thurman's double in Kill Bill, so the coordinator who wants nothing to do with the film's fictional stuntman is played by the genuine article.

Which band's records does Sharon Tate play at home in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Paul Revere & the Raiders. The choice is pointed: the band's singer, Mark Lindsay, had himself lived in that house on Cielo Drive not long before the Polanskis moved in.

Who plays James Stacy, star of the Western that Rick guest-stars on, in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Timothy Olyphant plays James Stacy, last seen riding off the set on his motorcycle. It is a sad wink: in 1973 the real Stacy lost an arm and a leg when a drunk driver hit his bike.