Bruce Dern Replaces Burt Reynolds in Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’
Quentin Tarantino has found a legendary replacement for the late Burt Reynolds in his Hollywood-centric new film.
Veteran screen star Bruce Dern will step in for Reynolds in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” an impossibly starry ensemble tale about an actor and his stunt double navigating a changing Hollywood as the Manson family terrorizes Los Angeles. It’s set to hit theaters on July 26, 2019.
Reynolds was expected to play George Spahn, a canyon ranch owner who rented his land spread to Charles Manson and his followers. Many historical accounts said the ranch served as a headquarters of sorts, and was the site of Manson’s indoctrination for the wayward young people he convinced to do his bidding.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt play the actor and stunt man, respectively. The film marks Tarantino’s first ever major studio effort after a long relationship with disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The cast also includes Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate, Luke Perry, Damian Lewis, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino, Emile Hirsch, Clifton Collins Jr., Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Keith Jefferson, and Nicholas Hammond.
Dern has recently starred in films like “Chappaquiddick” and the forthcoming “The Peanut Butter Falcon” starring Shia LaBeouf. He’s a two-time Oscar nominee for “Nebraska” and 1979’s “Coming Home.”
Dern and Reynolds were friends, and worked together numerous times on TV projects like “Hard Round,” “Hard Time: The Premonition,” and the series “12 O’Clock High.”
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