Oscar nominee Brad Pitt talks about playing Cliff Booth in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
It’s that time of the year again, when the carpets start rolling for the 92nd Annual Academy Awards on February 10. The Oscars are in the news this year not only for just having two Hollywood heavyweights competing with each other, but also for its diverse list of presenters including Indian American actor Mindy Kaling.
Just ahead of the Oscars, Hollywood heart throb Brad Pitt talks about his movie Once Upon A Time in Hollywood and why the film deserves to be one of the top contenders at the big awards.
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood has been nominated for Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Director. Pitt who has earned much love and attention for his portrayal of “Cliff Booth” talks about what makes the character so endearing.
Tell us a bit about your character as “Cliff Booth�
They come from this era, when an actor and a stunt man had a greater partnership and had more say in what was going to be in the film. And at this point, we are on the tail end, I say “we†because I’m on his coattails. I have a job if Rick Dalton has a job and if Rick Dalton doesn’t have a job then I probably don’t and he’s kindly hired me to work on odd jobs and you know, I’m doing whatever he needs.
Was there any trepidation?
Hell, no man, you know that you don’t have to carry, you know, the whole thing because you got these great people who are the best of the best and are going to help carry that load and it’s actually a relief and so much was automatic for us, just having experienced many of the same things.
This story itself that Quintin has created, it just was an immediate comfort. Cliff is just this guy who’s really in the moment, so much so that he doesn’t think about where literally his next meal is going to come from and it’s almost like he’s this pre-hippie or beatnik. Well it’s this Zen Buddhist era that Quintin wrote into Cliff.
It’s no hassle in the castle man. He’s just um “we’ll figure it out as we go along.†I really appreciate that about him, I appreciate that in people, you know the ability to embrace the way you are existing, you know, what unfolds in that day and um Cliff just seems to roll with it.
You and Leonardo both starred in this movie. How was your chemistry working together?
Lover. He calls me Lover. It’s a bit confusing, but I roll with it. You’ll find, with most of the guys, I would say we’re all pretty much rooting for each other, we all have respect for each other, we all have a good laugh with each other. And it plays, and it’s pretty easy.
Having had the experience twice, what’s it like, being on a Quentin Tarantino set?
He has such a verve for the filmmaking process. He’s knows he’s not going to be there, but for ten films, so it’s not going to be indefinite.
He has such reverence for filming and for film that he makes a party out of it. He loves a story. If we’re in the middle of a good story, the take is going to wait. We’ll get to the take and it’s going to be good, but we’re going to finish the story.