David Carradine: Looking Back At A Cult Legend

David Carradine was found dead yesterday in Hong Kong at the age of 72.

It’s a sad loss – so we thought we’d dig back through the archives and pay tribute to the man they once called Caine…

Next: Theatre work

Next: A dancer, not a fighter

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Next: Beating Bruce Lee to the punch

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Next: Directing legends

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Next: True original

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Next: Comic book fan

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Next: A chance to direct

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Next: Music man

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9. He was musically accomplished

Next: Birth of Bill

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10. He was one of the inspirations for his Kill Bill role

Though Warren Beatty was originally offered the part, Tarantino, it would seem, always wanted Carradine as the lethal leader.

''It was Warren who said, 'Why don't you hire David?''' Carradine told Entertainment Weekly ''Because Quentin just kept talking about me all the time, and Warren just got sick of it.''

The director planned it as a comeback that would also show a new side of the actor.

''Quentin said, 'It's got to be a home run. He wanted it to be a revelation to the world that would show me like people don't know me.''

''The result is that Bill has a lot of my character in it — or at least a lot of what Quentin thinks my character is.''

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James White is a freelance journalist who has been covering film and TV for over two decades. In that time, James has written for a wide variety of publications including Total Film and SFX. He has also worked for BAFTA and on ODEON's in-cinema magazine.