Anthony LaPaglia Reveals The Real Reason He Dropped Out Of Django Unchained
Being cast in a Quentin Tarantino movie is a major bucket list item for countless actors. This was the case for "Without a Trace" and "Frasier" star Anthony LaPaglia, who was set to join the star-studded cast of Tarantino's 2012 Western epic, "Django Unchained." Recently, the actor opened up about the tough decision that resulted in his absence from the eventual two-time Oscar winner.
LaPaglia was announced as part of the cast in October 2011, where he was set to portray one of the dastardly brothers who attempts to transfer Django (Jamie Foxx) to a mining company. By August 2012, it was revealed that LaPaglia exited the project, primarily pointing towards the messy production schedule as his reasoning.
In an interview with "Inside of You," LaPaglia shared that, while waiting for the shifting schedule to clear up, a new obligation presented itself. "They kept pushing my part, they pushed it for months," he said. "And then I got another job. And as soon as I got that job ... Quentin's ready for me." The job in question was a key role in "Underground: The Julian Assange Story" directed by Robert Connolly, who LaPaglia worked with prior on 2009's "Balibo."
Leaving Tarantino's film was a tough choice, with LaPaglia believing that the director was upset by his decision. However, a lot more was at stake if he exited "Underground," with the actor explaining, "By then, it was an Australian film that got its funding based on my name ... this movie, if I pull out of it, they're going to lose their financing and I felt responsible to that. I knew me not being in 'Django,' Quentin wasn't going to lose one cent in financing." Fortunately for LaPaglia, he wasn't the only A-lister who missed out on the opportunity.
LaPaglia was far from the only actor who dropped out (or almost did)
With a stacked cast that included Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson, it's hard to believe that "Django Unchained" was originally set to include even more big-name performers. However, similar to Anthony LaPaglia, many of these scheduled stars ended up exiting due to the tumultuous nature of the production.
While Will Smith is perhaps the film's most well-known dropout, as he and director Quentin Tarantino failed to see eye-to-eye on how to depict the titular character, others got further in before leaving the project. Kevin Costner, who was set to portray one of Calvin Candie's (DiCaprio) right-hand men, left due to scheduling conflicts in 2011, as did Joseph Gordon-Levitt in April 2012, given his own obligations with directing "Don Jon's Addiction."
Both Jonah Hill and Sacha Baron Cohen were offered the role of young slave owner Scotty Harmony, but neither were able to commit. Hill was able to return to the production in June 2012, but his part changed to a smaller antagonistic role. Even Tarantino alum Kurt Russell had to leave the film, with news of his withdrawal coming out the same week as the announcement of Cohen's departure.
As much as it might've hurt LaPaglia and others to not be a part of the venture, it doesn't rule out their chances of being in a Tarantino project. Both Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio were considered for prior Tarantino movies before being cast in his subsequent releases. As production amps up for the director's supposed swan song "The Movie Critic" and his unnamed TV show, anything is possible.