Originally published August 13, 2019. Updated August 14, 2019.
Quentin Tarantino has defended his portrayal of Bruce Lee in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, after Shannon Lee, Lee’s daughter, criticised the depiction of her father calling it “disheartening” and “uncomfortable” as the martial arts icon “comes across as an arrogant asshole.”
In a recent report from The Wrap, a new video shows the director speaking to reporters in Moscow, where he claims his portrayal of Lee is fair.
“Bruce Lee was kind of an arrogant guy,” Tarantino said. “The way he was talking, I didn’t just make a lot of that up. I heard him say things like that to that effect.”
During the film, Brad Pitt’s stuntman character, Cliff Booth, trades insults with Bruce Lee, played by Mike Moh. However, at one point, Lee states he could beat Muhammad Ali. This exchange ends up in a two-out-of-three rounds fight which concludes in a stalemate.
In a separate interview, Moh also gave his thoughts on the criticism, stating that: “The thing about it is, Number One, it’s a Tarantino film. He’s not going to do the thing that everybody expects anybody else to do. You’ve got to expect the unexpected. And Number Two, I knew from the jump, Tarantino loves Bruce Lee; he reveres him.”
What did you think of Bruce Lee’s portrayal in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us @flickeringmyth…
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbour… Sharon Tate.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained), Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds), Margot Robbie (I, Tonya), Timothy Olyphant (Santa Clarita Diet), Al Pacino (The Godfather), Damien Lewis (Billions), Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs), Dakota Fanning (Ocean’s 8), Luke Perry (Riverdale), Emile Hirsch (The Autopsy of Jane Doe), James Marsden (Westworld), Clifton Collins Jr. (Westworld), Julia Butters (American Housewife), Keith Jefferson (The Hateful Eight), Nicholas Hammond (The Sound of Music), Scoot McNairy (Halt and Catch Fire), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), Spencer Garrett (The Magicians), Martin Kove (Cobra Kai), James Remar (Django Unchained), Brenda Vaccaro (Once Is Not Enough), Nichole Galicia (Django Unchained), Bruce Dern (The Hateful Eight), Mike Moh (Inhumans), Craig Stark (The Hateful Eight), Marco Rodriguez (Inhumans), Ramon Franco (Tour of Duty), Raul Cardona (Where the Sky Is Born), Lena Dunham (Girls), Maya Hawke (Stranger Things), Austin Butler (The Shannara Chronicles), Lorenza Izzo (Knock, Knock), Rumer Willis (Empire), Dreama Walker (Gossip Girl), Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers), Costa Ronin (The Americans), Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting of Hill House), Madisen Beaty (The Master), Danny Strong (Billions), Sydney Sweeney (The Handmaid’s Tale), Rafal Zawierucha (The Pact), Damon Herriman (Justified), and Palm Dog award-winner Brandy.
