Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: 10 Characters Based On Real-Life People
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is an alternative history film directed by Quentin Tarantino. Here are who some of the characters are based on.
With Quentin Tarantino having a penchant for mixing reality and fiction in his recent years, it has never been more persistent than in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, which features one of the best alternative histories shown in a movie. And with the director working on a novel of the movie, Hollywood’s history could be revitalized by the director even further.
More than any other Tarantino movie, there are so many colorful characters that are based on real-life people. Between classic Hollywood movie stars, members of the Manson family, or parodies on cult icons, there are a lot of figures from the era who should reappear in the novel.
10 Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme
Squeaky is one of the members of the Manson Family who wasn’t involved in any other murders, but held the fort over at Spahn Ranch and looked after George. The scene in which Squeaky, played by Dakota Fanning, stands off against Cliff Booth as he forces his way into her domain is the most intense scene in the whole movie outside of the finale, as Fanning plays the role fantastically sinisterly.
9 George Spahn
Being played incredibly by Bruce Dern, George Spahn “runs” the Spahn Ranch, though there isn’t much running involved, as the elderly man is completely bedridden. Instead, members of the Manson Family have taken advantage of him and completely taken over the ranch, which was once the location for many western movies. The way the movie portrays Spahn and the ranch is surprisingly true to life.
8 James Stacy
The way Once Upon A Time In Hollywood riffs off of the icons is one of the reasons it’s the best Tarantino movie, and one of the best ways it does that is with the real-life western icon James Stacy, who was best known for his starring role in Lancer. The character is played by Timothy Olyphant when the seasoned actor has to act alongside Rick Dalton, who is going through a mental breakdown at the time.
7 Jay Sebring
In real life, Jay Sebring was a hairstylist who started a relationship with Sharon Tate. Jay had dark hair and was fairly short, and as Tate ended their relationship in order to start dating Roman Polanski, who also had dark hair and was fairly short, Tarantino jumped at the chance to make several jokes at their expense.
Sebring, as a character, had a prominent role in the movie, as he was always by Sharon’s side and he introduced her to Rick at the very end of the movie.
6 Bruce Lee
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood might be full of controversial moments, but one of the scenes that became surprisingly controversial, probably even to Tarantino himself, is the scene in which Bruce Lee argues with Cliff Booth. Bruce Lee comes off as smug, and then even starts a fight with Cliff, to which he loses. Fans of the legend have claimed that Lee would never lose a fight to a stunt man untrained in martial arts, but it’s still one of the best minor roles in a Tarantino movie.
5 Roman Polanski
Being the celebrated 1960s director who helmed Chinatown and Rosemary’s Baby, the director was a hot commodity and every actor wanted to work with him, and that included Rick Dalton in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Being the husband of Sharon Tate, Polanski had a small but pivotal role in the movie, and it was again another controversial moment, as it ignores the problematic life that Polanski has led.
4 Charles Manson
Of course, as Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is about the Manson Family’s attack on Sharon Tate, a feature from Charles Manson himself was bound to happen.
Though the appearance of Manson in the movie is extremely brief, his presence is felt. The actor who plays the cult leader, Damon Herriman, has such an uncanny resemblance to Manson that he doesn’t only play him in this movie, but also in the TV show Mindhunters.
3 Steve McQueen
As Steve McQueen was one of the coolest American actors of the 1960s, as his nickname during the era was even “King of Cool,” The Great Escape actor of course appears as a character in the movie, as he is seen partying at the Playboy Mansion. The character is played brilliantly by Damian Lewis, as the two actors share a shocking likeness, and he’s one of the characters we can’t wait to see return in the novel.
2 Tex Watson
Tex Watson, also known as the devil, who has come to do the devil’s work, or so he says before being shot down by Cliff, is, unfortunately, a very real-life person. Watson is the creepiest character in the movie and he was just as creepy in real life, being the second in command to Charles Manson and running the Spahn ranch. He was involved in the murder of Sharon Tate and is still in jail, 52 years later.
1 Sharon Tate
Tarantino’s use of Sharon Tate was the subject of controversy before the movie was released, as spectators believed that Tarantino was going to take Sharon Tate’s real-life murder and use it for one of his entertaining, overly violent scenes. So it was a pleasant surprise that Tarantino used the character in one of the most tasteful ways possible. Just like in Inglourious Basterds, the director revised history for the better, and it sees Margot Robbie in one of her best roles.