Leonardo DiCaprio Turns Down Another Tarantino Role

Variety's Jeff Sneider tweeted an interesting casting tidbit concerning the role of Dr. King Schultz (the dentist turned bounty hunter) in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. Originally the role was offered to Leonardo DiCaprio but he declined giving Christoph Waltz another opportunity to work with Quentin.

Previously DiCaprio had been Tarantino's top choice to play Col. Hans Landa in Basterds but turned it down making way for Waltz to win an Oscar. I'm curious why DiCaprio is opting not take choice roles in Tarantino films which were written with him in mind. His current batch of projects are likely based on directors alone with roles that seem mostly Oscar bait. I personally enjoyed Leo in Sam Raimi's The Quick & The Dead so I'm a little disappointed he's not returning to the western genre. The rumored/in talks cast currently includes Will Smith, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Franco Nero, Treat Williams, Keith Carradine and Uma Thurman.

Treat Williams Could Join The Dark Knight Rises

Treat Williams (Once Upon A Time In America, 127 Hours) very well could be joining The Dark Knight Rises. He talked to ZapIt2 confirming he has been in talks but it could conflict with another project. Yet he very well could end up be in the film in the end. It's not uncommon for Nolan to hire older film icons for his films Rutger Hauer (Batman Begins), Eric Roberts (Dark Knight) and Tom Berenger (Inception) were previously cast in supporting roles.