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Quentin Tarantino, the guy known for turning everyday actors into pop-culture icons went old-school with his pick, and the answer was peak Tarantino.
During a candid sit-down on the El Rey Network, Tarantino answered a question from fellow filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. The Oscar-winning Pulp Fiction mastermind had plenty of choices, but his response was instant:
“There’s a lot of guys you can say, but I have to say right now, I’m, in particular, the last few years, I’ve been on a real Lee Van Cleef kick,” he said. “I mean, I really wish I could have worked with Lee Van Cleef in that ’69, ’70 time period. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this, but Lee Van Cleef is a dead ringer for Snoop Dogg. They look exactly alike. Like as if they are the same guy (laughs).”
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Yeah, Lee Van Cleef. The guy who locked eyes with Clint Eastwood in For a Few Dollars More. Tarantino didn’t just respect him, he idolized him. That 1969-70 era version of Van Cleef had all the grit, danger, and cool that defined the kind of characters Tarantino loved to write.
Thing is, Tarantino never lacked access to certified badasses. He worked with Samuel L. Jackson more than any other actor, from Pulp Fiction to Django Unchained. Jackson even snagged an Oscar nod for Pulp Fiction, but Tarantino always swore it was more than just that one role. To him, Jackson could breathe life into dialogue like no one else, except, maybe, Christoph Waltz.
Waltz walked away with two Oscars under Tarantino’s direction, one for Inglourious Basterds, another for Django Unchained. And Tarantino once said Waltz was the only actor who could read his dialogue as well as Jackson. High praise? Massive.
And the women? Tarantino made Uma Thurman iconic in Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction. Pam Grier owned the screen in Jackie Brown. Even Death Proof packed a roster of femme fatales with Rosario Dawson, Zoë Bell, and Tracie Thoms stealing scenes like pros.
Still, none of them claimed the “ultimate badass” crown.
Lee Van Cleef did.
It was classic Tarantino, ditching the obvious pick for a deep cut. A gunslinger with a stare that could kill and a presence that needed no dialogue. The kind of guy Tarantino never got to direct but always dreamed of working with.
As for what came next, Tarantino kept fans guessing. He floated ideas like a Reservoir Dogs remake but backed off. Kill Bill 3 was still circling the rumor mill, with the idea of pairing Thurman with her real-life daughter, Maya Hawke. But his so-called final film stayed under wraps.
Whatever it was, it might have been Tarantino’s last shot to blend his go-to collaborators with fresh blood, and maybe channel that Lee Van Cleef energy into one last cinematic mic drop.
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