The Blockbuster-ish, old-Hollywood nostalgia film, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, has drawn both attraction and criticism, but its Tarantino-esque undertone manages to entertain most audiences overall through its eye-catching specificities. The movie’s casting choices range from some of the most famous faces in the industry to some rising stars that caught their big break from this production. Even some of the most minor roles were given to modern Hollywood’s biggest names.
While the storyline focuses on several real-life people, the entire plot has Tarantino’s taste in which he twists a historical event into something fictional. Most of the cast has starred in countless films that many have forgotten over the years, but are worth mentioning. After all, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s story celebrates the old western films that were a product of old-time Hollywood.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape: Leonardo Dicaprio
Sure, all Leo fans remember Jack Dawson from Titanic and Romeo from Romeo + Juliet, and even his recent disturbing, brutal, racist plantation owner, Calvin Candie from Django Unchained, but not many actually remember how the great Leonardo got his start.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape should be considered one of Dicaprio’s most important roles in his career. His character, Arnie, was mentally-disabled and needed care from his older brother, Gilbert Grape. Dicaprio immersed himself into this role by researching mental disabilities in order to shape his character more accurately.
The Runaways: Dakota Fanning
Dakota fans generally jumped on board when they saw her as Jane from Twilight. Fanning is one of the many child stars that audiences still remember from the younger characters she played, such as in Charlotte’s Web and War of the Worlds.
However, Fanning’s role as Cherie Currie is based on the real-life rockstar from the band, The Runaways, alongside the famous musician, Joan Jett. Fanning rocked the blonde hair and jeans that Currie had, but her chance onstage as this punk-rock singer was a different sight for viewers. Dakota had to accomplish the difficult task of embodying the young musician whose name went on to be one of the most influential for all-female rock bands.
Interview With The Vampire: Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt’s Oscar win for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was a shock to some, but his hilarious yet inspirational speech reflected how he brought himself to this character. Pitt’s acting career has spanned roles from dramatic to comedic, including some of his most noteworthy classics, Fight Club and Thelma and Louise.
It’s worth noting that many loyal Brad Pitt fans may have forgotten, or perhaps never knew, about his role alongside Tom Cruise in Interview With The Vampire. Pitt plays the frighteningly handsome vampire that now gives many Twilight fans some nostalgia as well. His character, Louis de Pointe du Lac, tells the story of how he was turned into a vampire and chose to avoid drinking human blood.
I, Tonya: Margot Robbie
Aside from The Wolf Of Wall Street, Harley Quinn, and Mary Queen of Scots, Robbie spent her time hitting the ice to portray the real-life figure skater, Tonya Harding.
While Robbie had stunt doubles perform the majority of Harding’s advanced-level techniques, Robbie learned how to move on the ice by training for four months! From all the physically-active scenes to the emotionally-intense ones, Margot’s role was certainly difficult and worth the watch, but many actually don’t know that she is the lead in this film. Not only did she star in it, but she also co-produced it.
Aliens In The Attic: Austin Butler
A lot of Zoey 101 fans can recognize Butler in his Once Upon A Time In Hollywood role, as well as in several cameos on Hannah Montana and iCarly, but a film that many don’t recall is Aliens in the Attic.
Austin’s early days as an actor saw him with a curly, blonde-haired look and bright blue eyes that stole many viewers’ hearts. He even starred alongside another Disney Channel alum, Ashley Tisdale, however, it was Butler’s comedic timing and wit that made his character worth watching.
Scream 2: Timothy Olyphant
Many don’t realize that when they’re watching the second installment of the Scream series, they’re also watching Olyphant as Mickey! Mickey turns out to be the character that isn’t great to mess with because he is working with Mrs. Loomis, the mother of the original Ghostface killer (Billy).
Mickey is one of the college group’s friends that looks like he’s running against the clock because one by one seems to face the fatality of Ghostface’s knife. Some that have watched the recent Tarantino movie don’t recognize Olyphant from Scream 2, but lo and behold, he is definitely this horror film character.
Seberg: Margaret Qualley
Qualley has starred in several well-known productions, including in Palo Alto and The Nice Guys, but one of her principal roles came out in 2019 in an Amazon original film, Seberg.
This film focuses on the real-life celebrity, Jean Seberg, with Qualley portraying the wife of the police officer that feeds into the commonality of racism at the time in the mid-20th century. Margaret’s character provides the relief of conscientiousness with regards to how the government officers unjustly and inhumanely stalked the famous actress. Qualley is one of the very few faces throughout the film that is against racism and its supporters.
Paterno: Al Pacino
Everyone remembers Pacino’s long list of other roles, and of course the widely-repeated line, “Say hello to my little friend,” from Scarface, and his roles in The Godfather, The Devil’s Advocate, Angels in America, and most recently, The Irishman. Pacino’s face and name went down as one of Hollywood’s most well-known, receiving several Oscar nods throughout his career.
However, the modern film, Paterno, where he stars as the film’s lead, isn’t one of his most popular projects. Despite the plot’s real-life storyline, based on the actual events that took place in a university’s football team, some Pacino fans don’t even know about this well-crafted movie. Pacino puts on a convincing performance to audiences, and his fans should consider this film one of his best of all time.
The Great Gatsby (1974): Bruce Dern
Bruce Dern’s is yet another one of the most famous faces that Tarantino’s movie depicts. Dern is known for his roles in the other two Tarantino films, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight, two movies that are notably difficult to watch for many viewers.
However, modern Dern fans may have completely forgotten about Dern’s earlier career days, specifically when he played Tom Buchanon in the 1974 film, The Great Gatsby. Dern’s portrayal of the complex and troubled Buchanon character is a stark contrast to his most recent roles in Tarantino’s violent works but is certainly the performance to check out for any real Dern fans that either forgot this was one of his career-defining roles or simply didn’t even know about it.
The Triangle: Luke Perry
Luke Perry will always be remembered as a brilliant and handsome actor with a lengthy career that accentuates his wide range as an actor. Many fans recognized Perry from his modern TV roles, such as in Riverdale and Beverly Hills, 90210, but some of his best movie roles were in television films.
2001’s The Triangle centers on the haunting effects of The Bermuda Triangle among three friends. Perry’s character, Stu, falls under the impact of the region’s wormhole-induced environment. Viewers will not be disappointed when watching the events unfold as the characters are revealed to have been lost at sea for over four years on Captain Morgan’s boat. The sequence of events proves the film’s theory that The Bermuda Triangle region is a wormhole, affecting the entire space and time continuum. If this television film isn’t familiar to most Perry fans, they should without a doubt check out this production, as the late actor’s talent emerges in his ability to portray any given character.
