Tarantino reveals DiCaprio’s character in Once Upon a Time is bipolar

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Rick Dalton, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Quentin Tarantino’s ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD, is an actor who is being left behind by the incoming New Wave of Hollywood. As a result, he’s going through a lot of mental and emotional turmoil, and on top of it all, Tarantino recently revealed that Dalton is also suffering from undiagnosed bipolar disorder. Sure to cause a lot of discussions online for numerous reasons, the factoid also gives a new look into the character and provided DiCaprio a more solid footing as to how to develop the character.

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Both the star and the writer/director were on hand to talk about the character with Vanity Fair for a video interview (transcription via THR), and that’s where Tarantino talked about pulling inspiration from the life of real-life actor Peter Duel. A TV western actor, Duel starred on the show ALIAS SMITH AND JONES, but then took his own life in 1971 after struggling with alcoholism and an apparently undiagnosed case of bipolar disorder.

“Now, we already had Rick a drinker,” Tarantino says, “but the whole thing about undiagnosed bipolar and not knowing how that works, and the weird pendulum swings of emotion you would have … that became a really interesting thing that we thought Rick could deal through. And that gave Leo a good, solid ground in which to work and build a character and have a subtext going on inside of scenes that don’t have to revolve around the story of the scene.”

The discussions between DiCaprio and Tarantino about Dalton’s deeper issues came about when, as the director said, “Leo would say, 'Okay, all of that is well and good about all this minutia, [but] I need something to act.”

DiCaprio then said the point was to not “overtly” point out that he was bipolar, with Tarantino cutting in to say, "We never say the word 'bipolar.’” The character certainly does get taken through a breakdown or two, like when he trashes his trailer after flubbing a few takes while acting on the show LANCER, performing a scene with James Stacy (Timothy Olyphant).

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Now if you didn't catch any of that in the movie, then perhaps a lot of viewers are right there with you. In not stating the fact Dalton is bipolar directly, it gives anyone a good reason to go back and watch DiCaprio's excellent performance with more attention to that detail. There's so much to unpack in that character, and now that this bit of information we can put more of what he's going through in greater context and get more out of his experience. 

ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD is in theaters now, and take a look at the whole Vanity Fair interview below, which offer more fascinating insights into Dalton.