Credit: Alamy
Mon 2 March 2026 21:45, UK
Burt Reynolds was born to be a movie star.
Dripping with sex appeal and a certain je ne sais quoi that made him so watchable, his ice-cold screen presence was the perfect antidote to the cynical world of the 1970s, ranking as the top money-making actor for five years in a row between 1978 and 1982, a joint record he shares with Bing Crosby, and while he might not have been able to keep this momentum going for his entire career, when he was on top, he was untouchable.
His undeniable charisma (and all-time great moustache) made him a must-have for the greatest directors of the day. Robert Aldrich picked him to lead his American football drama The Longest Yard, while Peter Segal offered him a cameo in his 2005 remake, and Paul Thomas Anderson gave his career a much-needed boost when he cast him in Boogie Nights, which you’d think would make him a PTA fan for life, but that’s not the case.
There’s one director who has a very unexpected connection to Reynolds – and it’s a big one.
In his book, The Making of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, author Jay Glennie details a conversation between the foot-loving filmmaker and the star of Smokey and the Bandit, wherein the former approached Reynolds about a role in his 2019 retelling of Hollywood history and the actor appeared to be so interested, in fact, that he was willing to make an incredible concession.
“I don’t want to talk about money,” he said.
“This is not about money. I’d do this for free. Don’t. Talk. To. Me. About. Money. I don’t care. I do not care. I’ll tell my agent to accept anything… It would be my honour.”
Burt Reynolds
Reynolds joined Tarantino’s ode to 1960s California to play a real-life figure, George Spahn, an elderly blind man who owned a huge ranch just outside of Los Angeles. He is most famous for his relationship with Charles Manson, allowing members of Manson and his ‘family’ to live on his ranch in exchange for them helping him out. He was the one who gave the family members their iconic nicknames, like ‘Tex’ or ‘Squeaky’. Please don’t look into the origins of that last one; they’re really grim.
Unfortunately, much like with the Mansons, this story doesn’t have a happy ending. Reynolds died in September 2018, mere months after officially being cast and never got the chance to film his scenes, reportedly running lines with his assistant on the day of his death. He was replaced by another Tarantino favourite from that same era, Bruce Dern. Interestingly, James Marsden filmed scenes for the movie playing Reynolds, but they were cut from the theatrical release.
Even though Reynolds doesn’t physically appear in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he still had an influence over the finished product, which is pretty evident if you know where to look. Tarantino clearly adored him, and that respect was mutual; you don’t agree to do a movie for zero pay if you don’t really like the guy making it.
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