Once Upon a Time in Hollywoodactor Julia Butters has revealed how she caught the attention of director Quentin Tarantino.
The 10-year-old, who stars in the film as a child prodigy who has to teach fallen actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) to rediscover his craft, was apparently on TV in the background while Tarantino was writing.
“It's a funny story. I'm on this family sitcom called American Housewife,” Butters, who made her acting debut aged four on an episode of Criminal Minds, explained to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Quentin likes to have the TV on in the background while he's writing and I happened to be on TV while he was writing my character. He looked up and saw me and said, 'Maybe she can try this.' I'm so happy that the TV was on at that time and that moment because if it hadn't, I wouldn't be in the movie.”
Butters hadn’t heard of the filmmaker before she auditioned for the role, but the pair reportedly formed a bond during production and are now pen-pals.
Set in the summer of 1969, around the time of the Manson family murders, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood stars DiCaprio as struggling actor Rick Dalton and Brad Pitt as his stunt double Cliff Booth. Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate, one of the victims of the murders on 8-9 August.
Overall, critics have been positive about the film and praised Tarantino's depiction of Hollywood in the late sixties, as well as his take on real-life events.
