Macaulay Culkin Says He Bombed His Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Audition
Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood could have looked very, very different. In a new interview with Esquire, Macaulay Culkin explained that he auditioned for a role in the film — though he doesn't say for what role — but things didn't exactly go his way. Culkin, who hasn't been part of a major motion picture since 2004's Saved, has been sticking to independent projects, Entertainment Weekly notes.
"It was a disaster," Culkin said. "I wouldn’t have hired me. I'm terrible at auditioning anyway, and this was my first audition in like eight years."
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Now that awards season is behind us, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has cemented its place in cinematic history. Culkin could have played Steve McQueen or another actor on Lancer, EW speculates. The role of McQueen ultimately went to Damian Lewis and the magazine adds that the film's huge ensemble cast had plenty of opportunities for Culkin, if he only managed to get through the audition process.
Tarantino is known for reviving careers: just look at John Travolta in Pulp Fiction and Don Johnson in Django Unchained. Culkin is most well-known for his work in the Home Alone series, though he has made appearances more recently, including a role on Hulu's Dollface.
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Fans of Once Upon a Time In Hollywood (which already had a second release with 10 minutes of additional footage) have something to look forward to: Tarantino confirmed that an extended cut could come to theaters next year.
"Hey look, it’s all good so once this whole thing is said and done, maybe in a year's time, we probably will [release it]," Tarantino said, according to Collider. "It's all good. It's all great. I don't know if an audience would sit for it, but I love it. So, we showed it to [Sony boss] Tom Rothman and it was like, 'OK, here this all is. We know that this is a movie, but maybe you can help us out because we like everything.'"