Once Upon A Time in Hollywood And The Renaissance Of Luke Perry’s Career
Luke Perry. Haven’t heard that name in a while? I don’t blame you to be honest. Well, not if you watch Riverdale, but if you do… Kudos! But have you heard the latest news about him? Apparently he’s going to star in Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and i was taken a back at thins brand new information… Not gonna lie.
Damian Lewis, Luke Perry, Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, Clifton Collins Jr, Keith Jefferson and Nicholas Hammond were added to the cast of supporting roles in Tarantino’s upcoming period piece drama, and Leo Dicaprio, Margot Robbie, Kurt Russel, and Bradd Pitt were already chosen.
I can see the reasoning for most of the actors chosen by Tarantino, but Luke Perry? I’m not moaning… I’m just surprised to say the least. He’s been way past his heyday and at 51, with not so stellar TV career and even more disappointing film picks, Perry is an odd choice. But it shouldn’t be really. If you take a good look at Tarantino’s previous movie you’ll find that he has a cunning way of resurrecting an actor’s career or even elevating it to new heights. He can turn a forgotten actor into an Oscar nominee and he can turn a relatively unknown actor into an Oscar winner. John Travolta and Christoph Waltz have Tarantino to thank for both of those things.
But can he do the same for Luke? Sure the competition is quite dense in this movie, and i doubt that he’ll be given more than 15 minutes role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but hey, at least it’s a start. If you scroll down the filmography of Luke Perry, you’ll notice a great deal of TV movies and straight to DVD movies and he had his peak by the late 90’s. Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element was his last memorable role in even more memorable movie, and his stint in Beverly Hills 90210 ended by the year 2000. Sure he was a heartthrob and a teenage wet dream back in the 90’s but a lot of time has passed since then. We’re talking about 18 years, (well 19 years by the time of the premiere) of total obscurity.
But, i’m glad Tarantino remembered him, and i’m even more pleased that he cast him in his next movie. He deserves it. He deserves more potentially great movies and even more potentially challenging roles.
David Heyman, Tarantino and Shannon McIntosh are producing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood , and the studio has set it for an August 9, 2019 release worldwide.
