Quentin Tarantino Opens up About an Acting Performance That Blew Him Away

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As a film buff, I’ve always been fascinated by Quentin Tarantino – he’s not just a director, but a genuine student of cinema. Everyone knows he loves directors like De Palma and Kurosawa, but what really strikes me is how much he reveres actors. Over the years, he’s talked at length about the performers he truly admires, and it’s a surprisingly diverse list. From the raw power of Harvey Keitel to the nuanced work of Michael Parks, he clearly appreciates a wide range of talent and how they bring characters to life.

During an episode of his podcast, Video Archives, which he co-hosts with Roger Avary, Quentin Tarantino highlighted a performance he believes is one of the best ever. He was referring to George C. Scott’s work in the 1971 dark comedy The Hospital. Tarantino remembered being completely amazed by Scott, to the point where he and Avary both wondered if it was the greatest performance they’d ever seen.

In the film The Hospital, George C. Scott plays the head of a busy and troubled hospital who is questioning his own life while investigating a series of strange deaths among his patients. His performance earned him an Academy Award nomination, which was especially noteworthy because he had previously made headlines by declining his Best Actor Oscar for Patton. Scott famously felt that acting wasn’t a competition, believing each performance was a unique work of art and shouldn’t be compared to others.

Quentin Tarantino isn’t just a fan of classic actors from the 1970s; he also deeply admires actors from his own generation. He’s often mentioned Sean Penn, Tim Roth, and Nicolas Cage as being particularly influential.

Tarantino especially praises Cage for his incredible ability to make even a bad casting choice work, saying he’s never seen anyone consistently deliver such strong performances no matter the role. He also frequently highlights Tim Roth’s versatility and intensity, qualities that have made Roth a regular in his films.

Even though Quentin Tarantino is planning to retire, he’s still a major topic of conversation in the film world. He unexpectedly canceled his tenth movie, The Movie Critic, but has quickly started a new, large-scale project. He wrote the script for The Adventures of Cliff Booth, a $200 million period drama for Netflix that continues the story from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. David Fincher is directing, but Tarantino was reportedly very involved during filming, which finished in January.

I’m so excited! It’s been over thirty years since Quentin Tarantino really acted, and now he’s coming back! He’s going to star in a new drama called Only What We Carry, and the cast is amazing – Simon Pegg and Charlotte Gainsbourg are going to be in it with him. I can’t wait to see it!

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2026-02-11 20:14