Legendary Hollywood filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has faced a wave of negative press lately following comments in which he said he “doesn’t care for” the acting performances of Paul Dano, Owen Wilson, and Matthew Lillard. Since then, several high-profile actors have come to the defence of the trio, with some even labelling the Pulp Fiction director a bully. Now, new comments from Jennifer Lawrence about being rejected for a movie role after being deemed “not pretty enough” are unlikely to do his public image any favours either.
Back in 2017, when Quentin Tarantino first announced Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, the film’s casting quickly became a major talking point. The comedy western, which centred on the Manson murders, focused on the final hours of Sharon Tate’s life. At the time, two names were heavily rumoured for the role: Jennifer Lawrence and Margot Robbie. Ultimately, a series of very public remarks played a key role in determining who landed the part.
Debra Tate, Sharon’s sister, told TMZ that Lawrence wasn’t “pretty enough” to play her sister. Instead, she praised Robbie’s “physical beauty” and presence, saying that the Barbie actress reminded her of her late sister. Lawrence was 27 at the time and already an Oscar winner, which made the comment sting more than most.
Now, in 2026, 7 years after the film released, Lawrence is addressing the rumors and the comments. Onstage at 92NY with interviewer Josh Horowitz, she opened up about the role. “Everybody was like: ‘She’s not pretty enough to play Sharon Tate,’” she said. Then she second-guessed her own memory, adding, “I’m pretty sure it is true, or it’s that thing where I’ve been telling that story this way for so long that I believe it.” She didn’t dodge the darker option either. “Or he just never was considering me for the part and the internet just went out of their way to call me ugly.”
As we all know, Robbie landed the role and shared the screen with Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. Debra Tate later visited the set and told Vanity Fair that watching Robbie perform “made me cry because she sounded just like Sharon.”
Then Tarantino addressed the rumors and the backlash in 2021 on an episode of WTF with Marc Maron, saying Lawrence was never even up for the role. According to him, she read for Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, who was jailed for trying to assassinate Gerald Ford in 1975. “She came down to the house to read the script,” Tarantino said. “She was interested in doing it, but something didn’t work out.”
Honestly, it’s a bit of a he said, she said here.
And, of course, this wasn’t even Lawrence’s first Tarantino near-miss. She’s admitted she passed on one of the leads in The Hateful Eight, a choice she regrets today. The part went to Jennifer Jason Leigh, who was later nominated for an Oscar for the role.
Tarantino says his next film will be his last as a director. Lawrence is now in her mid-30s, with nothing left to prove and plenty left to do. Hollywood loves a full-circle moment. Maybe she’ll finally get a chance to play a role in his swansong film.
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