Quentin Tarantino 'Creating' DJANGO UNCHAINED Role For Michael K. Williams
The Wire & Boardwalk Empire actor says he came down to the final two for the lead role and Quentin liked him so much he might be writing a new part for him in his spaghetti western.
Michael K. Williams (The Wire, Boardwalk Empire) has told Shadow & Act that he met with Quentin Tarantino over the leading role of the confused black slave turned deadly bounty hunter in Django Unchained, but lost out at the very end to Oscar winner Jamie Foxx; The rumors of me being considered for the lead role in Django is very true. I was in meetings with Quentin, QT as I call him. It came down to Jamie and I,Which if he is accurate would make him third choice for the role after Tarantino pulled out all the stops to try and get Will Smith to sign on, but in the end the role and the picture was deemed too controversial for an actor desperate to keep his squeaky-clean image in tact. It's one of the very few times (I'm not sure it's ever happened before) that Tarantino wrote a LEADING ROLE for an actor specifically in mind and they turned him down. In terms of Michael K. Williams then, his association with Quentin might not be over from those meetings alone. A few times in the past Tarantino has met with actors and liked them so much he has created brand new characters with them specifically in mind. For example - Samuel L. Jackson auditioned for Reservoir Dogs and although he wasn't quite what Tarantino was looking for in that picture, he then went on to create the character of Jules in Pulp Fiction specially with Jackson in mind. This time it could be happening to Williams, though not with a future project but with Django Unchained;
"Its not official yet but theres a lot of talk that there may be a role coming back round my way... Yes another role in the film. Its not official yet but theres a chance. His people and my people have been in discussions in regards to a role that he is creating for me.'Creating' would then suggest it's not a role as already in the script which means Quentin is doing a few re-writes on his film (and honestly it needed them given how unnecessarily long that second act is... trimming was definitely required). Whether that means a new character completely or as The Playlist suggest a re-writing of the role of Bartholomew (a silent bodyguard for Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie who is written for someone more the size of Ving Rhames), we won't find out for a little while yet. Filming begins after Christmas on Django Unchained and with an impressive cast; Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson and most recently Gerald McRaney. Sadly Kevin Costner recently dropped out of playing Ace Woody over scheduling and Tarantino hasn't replaced him in the week he's had since he lost his first choice. We previously suggested Woody Harrelson (just pleaseeeeeee don't cast Eli Roth again because he isn't suitable replacement!) for the role. Django Unchained opens Christmas Day 2012. Previously; Jamie Foxx Is DJANGO UNCHAINED, Kerry Washington For Broomhilda?Leonardo DiCaprio Will Play DJANGO UNCHAINED Villain!Will Smith Could Be DJANGO UNCHAINED, Samuel L. Jackson CastQuentin Tarantinos DJANGO UNCHAINED Script Leak?