It’s not uncommon for actors to decline movie offers, but Viggo Mortensen reportedly turning down Quentin Tarantino seems a bit controversial for many. The actor, however, clarified that it was nothing personal.
The Pulp Fiction director was reportedly eyeballing Mortensen for a role in his 2015 film The Hateful Eight, but the plan to bring him into the project did not happen.
Viggo Mortensen Had To Drop From Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight
During an interview with Grantland, actor Viggo Mortensen enlightened fans as to why he did not join Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. He admitted auditioning for the role, but something kept him from further pursuing it. He stated:
“All of last fall, I traveled nonstop. I was on a plane every two days to promote Jauja and Far From Men. I knew as a producer and an actor that I needed to do that for those movies to have a chance to be seen. [Tarantino] wanted to start shooting at the end of the year and do rehearsals before that, and I just couldn’t do that schedule-wise. That’s the only reason [I passed]. It would have been really, really fun to work with him. I think he’s really smart and funny.”
It turns out that not only did he try for The Hateful Eight but he also auditioned for Reservoir Dogs. Mortensen said he could not recall which role he read for, but he tried for two parts:
“I’d never sat down and talked to him that much, although I did audition for Reservoir Dogs, which he remembered. I might have auditioned for two. I had fun. I did one take where I made the character Hispanic. I remember it was in this tiny office on the Fox lot, I think, and I read with Harvey Keitel.”
Mortensen lamented how things did not work out for him and Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. The actor would have made a huge comeback after his stint in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings:
“I wish [The Hateful Eight] would have worked out, but that’s what I’m talking about: You either see these films through to the end or you don’t.”
The Green Book star has been very selective with his works, and it was a shame he was not able to fit one more fantastic role into his schedule.
Viggo Mortensen Feels Lucky To Have Met Quentin Tarantino
In another interview with Democracy Now, Viggo Mortensen echoed the same reasons why he never got the chance to work with Quentin Tarantino despite auditioning twice. He explained:
“When he’s early in his career, his first big feature, Reservoir Dogs, I did audition for that. That was fun. And I was lucky to meet Quentin again about a year ago before he was going to shoot The Hateful Eight. I simply wasn’t available. It wasn’t that I turned it down. I just wasn’t available to do it. But I had a really great conversation with him.”
Hopefully, in the future, Mortensen will have the opportunity to collaborate with Tarantino. It would be fun to see these two veteran Hollywood figures create a masterpiece together.
