Jamie Foxx revitalizes a familiar on-set story where theDjango Unchainedcast reacted to Leonardo DiCaprio being unable to bring himself to say one word.Django Unchainedwas Quentin Tarantino’s first foray into the Western genre, stepping into it with his stylistic flare and unforgettable dialogue. The film was ultimately a success, earning an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and a 92% from moviegoers while making $425 million worldwide. It was praised for its ambition and style but, likeseveral of Tarantino’s films, it was also criticized for its heavy use of the n-word.
In a new video withVanity Fair, Foxx reminisces over several of his films, includingDjango Unchained, where he recalls a behind-the-scenes story wherecostar DiCaprio, who plays a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi, had a hard time saying the n-word. Foxx remembered DiCaprio saying it wasn’t in his personal character to say the n-word. However, after expletive encouragement from costar Samuel L. Jackson and a hard talk with Foxx, DiCaprio was able to lock into the character of Calvin Candie and tap into the necessary evil to play the role without limits. Read or watch Foxx’s retelling of the story below:
We’re doing a reading and Leo says, ‘Hey man, hey guys, cut, I– I– I just can’t do this. This is not me.’ And Samuel L. Jackson: ‘Say that shit mother*er! It’s just another Tuesday! F ‘em!’ And I told Leo, I said, ‘In slavery days, we would never talk to each other. So I’m not your friend. I’m not Jamie Foxx. I’m, you know, I’m Django.’ And as I told him, I said, ‘You won’t be able to play that character unless you know what slavery was about. It was tough, it was horrific.’
So the next day, I see Leo. He walks up and I say, ‘Leo what’s up . . . L . . . L what’s up!’ He don’t speak to me. He ready. So everybody started, y’know, uh, diggin’ in.
What This Means For Django Unchained
DiCaprio Needed To Portray His Character Authentically Despite How Offensive It Was
Tarantino’s films are partly notorious for their use of the n-word, andDjango Unchainedwas no different. In fact,the Oscar-winning script reportedly used the word about 110 timesas an insult, proper noun, and filler word. This sparked controversy and outrage with arguments considering the use of the word as pejorative. However, many were quick to defend the film’s use of the word, stating that the word was, in a sense, essential to the language of the time and for depicting racism and slavery with authenticity.
How An Injury Made Leonardo DiCaprio’s Django Unchained Role Iconic
Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance in Django Unchained was memorable from the start, but an onset injury actually made it iconic.
Along with the n-word,Django Unchainedwas riddled with disturbing and in-your-face portrayals of certain elements regarding slavery. Theprovocativeness lines with Tarantino’s creative approach to such heavy topics, delivering the message with no coat of sugar, save for a dash of style that often adds a campy flavor to his otherwise dark films. WithDiCaprio playing the main antagonist, being able to say the n-word while overcoming the anxiety, might have been the key ingredient needed to play the role to its full potential.
Our Take On DiCaprio’s Struggle With The Word
DiCaprio Gave A Very Intense & Award-Worthy Performance
While I admire DiCaprio’s struggle with the word, I am thankful forFoxx’s insight and advice. Saying the n-word as Calvin, the spaghetti western’s symbol of slavery and racism, was important for DiCaprio to understand the nature of the character and the themes he represented. He needed to be the villain. It may have taken some convincing for him to accept this, but once he did, he gave a cold-hearted and relentless performance inDjango Unchainedthat served as a shocking but much-needed reminder of the still rampant racism in America.
Django Unchained
Cast
Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained follows Jamie Foxx’s Django, a Black slave who is freed before becoming a bounty hunter. After meeting German dentist-turned-bounty-hunter Dr. King Schultz, Django sets off to free his wife from the cruel and charismatic plantation owner Calvin Candie. Christophe Waltz stars alongside Foxx, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kerry Washington rounding out the cast of Tarantino’s revisionist Spaghetti Western.
