Quentin Tarantino may have worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, but it turns out there’s one person that he believes stands out above the rest as the best actor in the world.
Over time, the director has honed a list of favourite collaborators, having most notably worked with Samuel L. Jackson in six of the films he’s directed, along with True Romance, which he wrote.
Other frequent cast members include the likes of Uma Thurman, Michael Madsen, James Parks, Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, among many others.
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However, the one person he believes to be the best actor ever isn’t actually someone he’s worked with all that much, having only crossed paths once in the late 90s for Jackie Brown.
Alongside Pam Grier in the titular role, and other veteran names like Samuel L. Jackson, Bridget Fonda, Robert Forster and Michael Keaton, the crime flick features none other than Robert De Niro as Louis Gara.
In an interview with Charlie Rose to tie in with the film’s release back in 1997, Tarantino said: “He deserves his reputation as probably the greatest actor of his generation.”
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He continued of De Niro, whose other credits include Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Mean Streets: “I think he is the best actor in the world. I’ve never seen an actor so completely consume himself in character, in true character work during the work. And what I mean by that is when Robert is playing Louis… he is working moment to moment.
“De Niro has that down. He is so in character.”
There are, of course, other stars that Tarantino respects, having previously told Jim Hoberman about the greatest actors of his lifetime
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He explained: “I’m a big fan of wild behavioural actors. I think Michael Parks [The Hitman] is one of the greatest actors that’s ever been produced in our lifetime! He ruined most of the breaks he got. He’s in From Dusk Till Dawn.”
When asked about standout stars from his ‘generation’, Tarantino replied: “Sean Penn, Tim Roth, and Nick Cage. Tim because of his versatility and ferociousness. He’s got this chameleon quality. Sean out of sheer sexual-violence charisma. And Nick Cage just for fearlessness. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen another actor in the history of film that made a career of being miscast and rising to the occasion.”
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Topics: Quentin Tarantino, Robert De Niro, Film and TV