Quentin Tarantino reveals the role Jennifer Lawrence read for in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Jennifer Lawrence in Red Sparrow — (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Quentin Tarantino has revealed that Jennifer Lawrence read for a role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

"Early on, in the pre-production of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood… I investigated the idea of Jennifer Lawrence playing Squeaky," the director told Marc Maron on his WTF podcast. "She came down to the house to read the script 'cause I wasn’t letting it out. So, she came down to the house and I gave her the script and said, ‘Go in my living room or go outside by the pool and read it.' So she read it, and afterward, we talked about it a little bit. She was interested in doing it, but something didn’t work out. But she’s a very nice person, and I respect her as an actress."

The role of Squeaky Fromme eventually went to Dakota Fanning, while Lawrence went on to star in the X-Men movie Dark Phoenix opposite Sophie Turner. "I couldn’t be happier with what Dakota Fanning did, it’s one of the best performances in the movie," Tarantino continued. "She’s amazing as Squeaky Fromme."

The character, like many of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's supporting characters, was based on a real woman – Squeaky Fromme was part of the Manson family, the white supremacist cult led by Charles Manson. Although she was not involved in the murder of Sharon Tate (the event which the movie reimagines, with Margot Robbie playing Tate), she attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975 and was then sentenced to life in prison.

The 2019 movie was hugely successful and did well at awards season, receiving nominations for 10 Academy Awards and winning Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes. That's not where things ended for that particular story, either – Tarantino recently published a novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which follows the movie’s protagonists, TV actor Rick Dalton (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), both forward and backward in time.

If you've already seen Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best movies of 2020.

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related. I help bring you all the latest news, features, and reviews, as well as helming our Big Screen Spotlight column. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.