Brad Pitt’s role as stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s love-letter to 60s Hollywood Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is one of the actor’s most memorable performances. Pitt won the Oscar and a Golden Globe for his portrayal as the fading stuntman to Leonard DiCaprio’s fading star Rick Dalton.
Quentin Tarantino had multiple references steeped in the 60s for Pitt to portray the role of the calm and chill stuntman. There was one film, however, that Tarantino wanted the Seven actor to watch to give him a sense of the character. Coincidentally, Pitt had the exact same reference even before the legendary director told him.
References Given By Quentin Tarantino To Brad Pitt
Quentin Tarantino, to put it mildly, is a major cinephile. Being a video store clerk in his younger years, Tarantino is a walking encyclopedia of classic films and TV shows that were the staple of the 60s and the 70s. The director has specific references in mind while working on a film and he had some for Brad Pitt’s stuntman character as well.
Pitt plays stuntman Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The film is set in the Golden Age of Hollywood right before the Manson Murders and follows a day in the life of Leonardo Dicaprio’s Rick Dalton, Pitt’s Booth, and Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate. While Robbie is the only one who plays a real-life character, Tarantino had plenty of references for Pitt.
Tarantino reportedly had a prominent stuntman of the 60s Hal Needham as the main reference for Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth. Needham was a legendary stuntman who was a double for stars such as Burt Reynolds and Clint Walker. The stuntman had a bunch of credits in classic genre films of the era and even turned director.
Another reference that Tarantino gave was Gary Kent, a legendary stunt double for shows like The Green Hornet and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., both of which are referenced in the film. Kent also reportedly had a run-in with Charles Manson at Spahn Ranch, which is heavily featured in the film.
Brad Pitt’s Coincidental Movie Choice For Playing Cliff Booth
Brad Pitt had already worked with Quentin Tarantino on the World War II revisionist war film Inglorious Basterds and the duo wanted to work together again for a decade. When Tarantino conceived of the character of Cliff Booth he immediately thought of Pitt for the role and called him over for initial talks.
Tarantino revealed in the Pure Cinema Podcast that he had a very specific film to show Pitt. He said that the reference to Cliff Booth came from a film called Billy Jack, which starred Tom Laughlin playing a Vietnam War veteran who returns to America and becomes a protector of the vulnerable.
Tarantino said that when Pitt arrived at his house to talk about the film, he was surprised that the actor had the same reference and had come with a DVD of the film,
“He brought something he wanted to watch with me…He pulls out a DVD of Billy Jack and he went, ‘I was thinking maybe Tom Laughlin, maybe we should watch Billy Jack and think about that.’ And I go, ‘Brad, I have a 35 mm print of Billy Jack, threaded up on the projector, waiting for you to get here.’ He couldn’t believe that we both were thinking of Billy Jack — and more Tom Laughlin.”
This weird coincidence made Brad Pitt the perfect choice to play the character even before the duo had any discussion regarding the role. Pitt would go on to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as the badass stuntman.
