50 Fun Facts About Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Who plays Rick Dalton?

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Rick Dalton, a fading TV Western star of the late 1960s; it was his second film for Tarantino after Django Unchained (2012).

Which TV Western series made Rick Dalton a star in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Bounty Law is the Western series that made Rick a star before his slide into guest-villain roles; Tarantino wrote five half-hour episodes of the fictional show to get inside Dalton's head.

Which real Steve McQueen series was Rick Dalton's TV show modeled on?

Wanted Dead or Alive (CBS, 1958-61) starred Steve McQueen as bounty hunter Josh Randall, the template for Rick's series; McQueen himself appears in the film, played by Damian Lewis.

What is the name of Cliff Booth's pit bull?

Brandy lives with Cliff in his trailer and does most of the damage in the finale.

Why does Cliff struggle to find stunt work?

A fight with Bruce Lee and rumors he murdered his wife keep Cliff off sets; the ambiguity around his wife Billie's death nods to Natalie Wood, and the novelization confirms he killed her with a speargun.

Which real TV Western does Rick guest-star in as the villain during the film?

Sam Wanamaker, played by Nicholas Hammond, directed the real Lancer pilot too, and the Land Pirates were characters in it.

Who plays Trudi Fraser, the precocious child actor who impresses Rick on the Western set?

Julia Butters, a child actress from the sitcom American Housewife, plays Trudi Fraser; Tarantino cast her after seeing her on that show, and Trudi tells Rick his scene was the best acting she had ever seen.

Which agent, played by Al Pacino, urges Rick to make spaghetti Westerns in Italy?

Marvin Schwarz, played by Al Pacino, tells Rick over lunch that losing to a new TV hero every week as a guest villain is killing his career, and steers him toward Italian Westerns.

Which real Italian director does Rick go to Italy to work for?

Sergio Corbucci, the real director of Django (1966), gives Rick the lead in the spaghetti Western Nebraska Jim; Rick shoots three more Italian films, including one for Antonio Margheriti.

What is the name of the Italian starlet Rick marries in Italy?

Francesca Capucci, played by Chilean actress Lorenza Izzo, is the starlet Rick marries while shooting Westerns in Italy; supporting her is part of why he can no longer keep Cliff on his payroll.

Who plays Sharon Tate?

Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate; she read Roman Polanski's 1984 memoir to prepare, and Tate's sister Debra lent her some of Sharon's own jewelry for the role.

Which of her own films does Sharon Tate watch in a theater?

The Wrecking Crew (1968), a Dean Martin spy comedy in which Tate played the clumsy Freya Carlson, is the film she watches at the Fox Bruin in Westwood, enjoying the audience's laughter at her pratfalls.

Which martial artist trained Tate for her spy comedy and fights Cliff on The Green Hornet set?

Bruce Lee, played by Mike Moh, really did coach Tate for her 1968 spy comedy; in the film Cliff throws him into a car door on The Green Hornet set, a scene Lee's daughter Shannon criticized.

Who plays Charles Manson?

Damon Herriman, an Australian actor, plays Charles Manson; he played Manson again in season two of Netflix's Mindhunter, released the same summer of 2019.

Whom is Manson looking for when he turns up at the Polanski house?

Jay Sebring tells him Melcher has moved; the encounter is based on a real 1969 visit reported by the house's owner and a photographer friend of Polanski.

Cliff gives a hitchhiking Manson girl a ride to Spahn Ranch. What is her nickname?

Margaret Qualley plays her; the composite character was modeled mainly on Ruth Ann Moorehouse, whom Manson sent into the city to lure men with money.

Who plays ranch owner George Spahn, a role Burt Reynolds died before filming?

Bruce Dern plays the blind, elderly George Spahn after Burt Reynolds died in September 2018 before shooting his scenes; Dern had earlier appeared in Tarantino's Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight.

In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, what does Cliff make hippie Clem do after Clem sabotages his car at Spahn Ranch?

Cliff makes Clem change the punctured tire himself after beating him; the girls summon Tex, who rides up just as Cliff drives away, and the two meet again on the film's final night.

Who plays "Squeaky" Fromme, George Spahn's caretaker?

Dakota Fanning plays Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme, who blocks Cliff's path to George Spahn; the real Spahn gave Fromme the nickname for the sound she made when he touched her.

Who plays Tex Watson?

Austin Butler plays Charles 'Tex' Watson, who leads the Manson followers to Cielo Drive on the final night; Butler went on to play Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis (2022).

On what date do Rick and Cliff return from Italy and go out drinking?

August 8, 1969 is the film's final day: Rick and Cliff, back from Italy, drink at Casa Vega and end the night at Rick's house, the real date of the Tate murders, which the film rewrites.

What does Cliff Booth smoke before walking his dog on the final night?

An acid-laced cigarette, bought from a hippie girl at a traffic light months earlier, is what Cliff smokes before walking the dog while Rick mixes margaritas.

Why do the Manson followers decide to kill Rick instead of the Tate house occupants?

Sadie argues TV shows like his taught them to murder, so they should kill Rick, the star they recognize after he yells at them about their car's loud muffler.

Which Manson follower deserts the group and drives off with their car?

Flowerchild, played by Maya Hawke, loses her nerve and drives off with the car; she stands in for Linda Kasabian, the real fourth member at the Tate house, who later testified against the others.

What does Rick use to kill Sadie in the pool?

A stunt flamethrower, kept from Rick's war film The 14 Fists of McCluskey, is what he fetches from his pool shed to burn Sadie after she staggers into the water.

Which real 1963 film is Rick Dalton digitally inserted into, in Steve McQueen's role?

The Great Escape (1963) is the film Rick is digitally inserted into, replacing Steve McQueen as Captain Virgil Hilts, the 'Cooler King', while Rick tells a co-star he had once been in the running for the part.

Which real Hollywood restaurant did Tarantino insist on as a "must have" location?

Musso & Frank Grill, open on Hollywood Boulevard since 1919, hosts Rick's lunch with his new agent; Tarantino said he felt lucky that a place survived exactly as it always had.

Which fictional cigarette brand, a Tarantino-universe staple, does Rick Dalton advertise in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's closing commercial?

Red Apple cigarettes, the fictional brand seen in Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, star in the mid-credits commercial in which Rick praises them on camera and then complains about the taste once the take ends.

This was Tarantino's first film made without which producers?

Bob and Harvey Weinstein's Miramax or The Weinstein Company had released every Tarantino film from Reservoir Dogs to The Hateful Eight; he cut ties after the 2017 abuse allegations against Harvey and held a bidding war.

Which studio won the bidding war to distribute the film?

Sony beat Warner, Universal, Paramount, Annapurna and Lionsgate by meeting Tarantino's demands, including final cut and 25 percent of first-dollar gross.

What budget did Tarantino demand from the studio?

$95 million was the production budget Tarantino required, alongside final cut and the reversion of rights to him after 10 to 20 years; the finished film reportedly cost between $90 and $96 million.

Where did the movie premiere in May 2019?

The Cannes Film Festival premiered it on 21 May 2019, projected from a 35mm print, 25 years to the day after Pulp Fiction's own Cannes premiere.

Which actor, who died in March 2019, makes his final film appearance in the movie?

Luke Perry, who died of a stroke on 4 March 2019, makes his final film appearance as Wayne Maunder, a real co-star of the 1968 Western Rick guest-stars on; the film reached cinemas four months after his death.

How many Academy Awards did the film win from its ten nominations?

Two Oscars: Best Supporting Actor and Best Production Design (Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh), from ten nominations that included Best Picture and Best Director; it also won the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy.

Which cast member won an Oscar for the film?

Brad Pitt's stuntman Cliff Booth won him his first acting Oscar, Best Supporting Actor, after a producing win for 12 Years a Slave; DiCaprio was nominated for Best Actor but lost to Joaquin Phoenix.

Who plays Roman Polanski in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

Rafał Zawierucha, a Polish actor, plays Roman Polanski, who arrives as Rick's new neighbour with Sharon Tate in February 1969, fresh from the success of Rosemary's Baby (1968).

Which real stuntman and judo champion, once a murder suspect, was an inspiration for Cliff Booth?

LeBell was reportedly brought onto The Green Hornet after complaints that Lee was beating up the stuntmen; Gary Kent was another inspiration.

What real-life relationship gave Tarantino the idea for the film while making Death Proof?

Casino had doubled Russell for years, and Tarantino sensed it was one of the last things they would do together.

Who plays celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring?

Emile Hirsch plays Jay Sebring, Tate's former fiancé who stayed close to her and Polanski; the real Sebring was murdered alongside Tate at Cielo Drive in August 1969.

In which year did Tarantino publish his debut novel, a reworking of the film?

2021 saw Tarantino's debut novel, a paperback-original reworking of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood published by Harper in June; it expands Cliff Booth's backstory and his taste in foreign films.

Which director was hired in 2025 to helm the Cliff Booth sequel written by Tarantino?

David Fincher, who directed Pitt in Se7en and Fight Club, was hired in 2025 to direct The Adventures of Cliff Booth, a Netflix sequel scripted by Tarantino with Pitt returning as Booth.

Which country pulled the film a week before release after Tarantino refused to cut a scene?

China pulled the film in October 2019, a week before its planned release, after Tarantino refused to recut the Bruce Lee fight; Lee's daughter Shannon had complained to the National Film Administration.

Who plays coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Sharon Tate's houseguest?

Samantha Robinson, star of The Love Witch (2016), plays Abigail Folger, who is staying at Cielo Drive with boyfriend Wojciech Frykowski while Polanski is in London; both were killed there in real life.

Which interviewer, played by Spencer Garrett, quizzes Rick and Cliff on the set of Rick's series?

Allen Kincade, played by Spencer Garrett, is the TV host whose 1960s interview with Rick and his stunt double Cliff opens the film and sets up their partnership.

Which book does Sharon Tate buy for Roman Polanski at the Larry Edmunds Bookshop?

Tess of the d'Urbervilles is the Thomas Hardy novel Sharon buys for Roman at Larry Edmunds Bookshop; in real life Tate gave him the book before her death, and he dedicated his 1979 film Tess to her.

Where were the Spahn scenes shot, the real site having burned down in 1970?

Corriganville, a former movie ranch in Simi Valley, stood in for Spahn Ranch, which burned in a 1970 wildfire; the production rebuilt the ranch's Western street sets there.

What car does Cliff Booth drive home in after dropping Rick off?

A Volkswagen Karmann Ghia is Cliff's own car; he collects it from Rick's driveway each evening before driving to his trailer behind the Van Nuys drive-in.

Who plays Janet Miller, the stunt coordinator's wife who throws Cliff off a set?

Zoë Bell, Tarantino's longtime stunt performer and the lead of Death Proof, plays Janet Miller, who orders Cliff off The Green Hornet set after his fight with Bruce Lee.

Which band supplies several tracks on the film's classic-rock compilation soundtrack?

Paul Revere & the Raiders get several tracks on the soundtrack, which also folds in 1960s radio ads and DJ patter.

Who plays James Stacy, a lead of the Western on which Rick plays the villain?

Timothy Olyphant plays James Stacy, a real co-lead of the 1968 Western whose pilot Rick shoots; the real Stacy lost an arm and a leg in a 1973 motorcycle crash.