I’ve wondered why Tarantino had Brad Pitt kick Bruce’s ass in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Was Bruce known as someone that needed to be taken down a notch? It was humorous, but I didn’t know if it was deserved. Jesus, Leonardo was good in that. Just reminded me.
I'm sure that people felt like he needed to be taken down a notch. I took until about now for Asian actor to get to kiss the girl in Hollywood and it's still not common. Think back on the history of Asian actors and realize that until very recently they were mostly super racist caricatures of people. I'm sure Bruce had a lot of swagger and I bet that was shocking and off putting to a bunch of guys who were used to being the center of attention and the big stud in the room.
I don’t know if we’ve talked about this yet or not. So this may be redundant. Leo was amazing. The scene with him talking to the young actress girl and then having that strong performance and her acknowledging that it’s the best acting she’s seen is AMAZING. It’s so meta. Re Bruce, good question. Was he a ballet dancer or was he a bad ass? Tarantino went with ballet. What’s the premise for that? According to Tarantino, Bruce was a bit arrogant.
That exact scene was what I was thinking of. I think it’s some of the best acting I’ve seen in the last few years. I can’t remember anything better, anyway. So much going on there. Being the actor, but yet performing in the role, pulling off the transformation, and taking you with him. Just crazy.
On top of it, Leonardo himself is at the exact same stage of his career, adding a third level to it. It’s remarkable stuff. It’s some of the best writing and acting I’ve seen. It’s a fun film. When Tarantino hits, he hits hard.