Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: Ranking Every Major Performance
6. Margaret Qualley As Pussycat
After serving as something of a scene-stealer a few years back in Shane Black's The Nice Guys, Qualley is back in full force here with yet another scene-stealing role that sees her going toe-to-toe with some of biggest names in Hollywood.
While she gets smaller scenes peppered throughout the film, her big moment comes in the form of the lead-up to the Spahn's Ranch setpiece, in which she convinces Cliff Booth to give her a ride up to said ranch.
The resulting car ride and conversation see her and Pitt engaging in a fair bit of verbal sparring and to her immense credit, Qualley essentially steals the scene out from under Cliff (and subsequently Pitt's) nose. As Pussycat, she deceptively uses her physicality to take control of both Cliff and the scene itself.
As if this wasn't impressive enough, Pussycat's dawning realization that Cliff isn't the perfect match for the 'family' that she thought he was, is played with startling grace and power. Qualley imbues Pussycat with a presence and personality entirely her own and even manages to foreground her character's very own arc in the brief screentime she has, leaving a huge impression on the film.