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Quentin Tarantino had a clear idea in mind when he shaped Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, especially for the moment Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Rick Dalton, has a furious breakdown alone in his trailer.
If you have watched the scene and felt that it was too unfiltered and real, then don’t blame yourself. It was practically meant to be that way. Apparently, Tarantino didn’t want a scripted meltdown and instead, he gave DiCaprio space to improvise and explode. The director had only one goal in mind and that is to capture the messiness of a man fed up with himself.
Quentin Tarantino & Leonardo DiCaprio’s Creative Collaboration Behind the Scenes
The film, set in the late 1960s, follows the fading career of Rick Dalton, an actor caught in the undertow of a changing industry, and his stunt double and closest companion, Cliff Booth (played by Brad Pitt). Their story weaves around the life of Sharon Tate, played with quiet charm by Margot Robbie.
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On the day they filmed the trailer scene, Tarantino stood close to the camera and fed DiCaprio cues when needed. To him, it was just simple sparks to keep the fire going and the idea was to let things unravel naturally.
Tarantino revealed in an interview on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast (featured on the YMH Studios YouTube channel), “What happened there was, I knew I wanted to have that scene but I didn’t want to write it out. I didn’t want it to have to be dialogue, he remembered. So I got Leo and I was saying, ‘So look, here’s what I want to do: I want you to come in having f—ed up on set not knowing your lines and I want you to come in the trailer and have a whole mad anger at yourself, detest fest, a complete temper tantrum against yourself.”
DiCaprio, as one would expect, was also reportedly nervous because he was aware that he had to carry the scene alone.
The director added, “So we’re shooting this scene and I’m right by the camera and we just do a few different takes and it was great. And then, from time to time, if I thought he ran out of something I could throw something his way.”
Fortunately, for both of them, that tension worked in the scene’s favor and it fueled a performance that flipped from funny to painful without warning.
Why Rick Dalton Was the Perfect Role for Leonardo DiCaprio
It wasn’t the first time Tarantino and DiCaprio had worked together. They’d previously teamed up for Django Unchained, where DiCaprio played a chilling, swaggering villain.
The Titanic star took on something more comedic and probably, riskier with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Besides, Tarantino has built a career on bold characters and unforgettable scenes. Just think of the intensity of Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds or the unforgettable rants in Pulp Fiction. DiCaprio fits right into that tradition, especially when the camera catches him at his most unguarded. Rick’s trailer meltdown lands alongside those legendary moments.
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