Diane Kruger Says Quentin Tarantino Didn’t Want to Hire Her for ‘Inglourious Basterds’

Diane Kruger had a rocky road to getting cast in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” as Bridget Von Hammersmark, a German film star turned Allied spy in World War II. She detailed how it went down on a recent episode of the podcast “Reign with Josh Smith.”

“He auditioned everyone,” said Kruger, who is currently promoting her new action thriller “The 355.” “He didn’t want to audition me because he saw a movie that I was in he didn’t like. So he didn’t believe in me from the get-go. Literally, the only reason he auditioned me is because there was no one left to audition.”

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Kruger, who starred on FX’s “The Bridge” and who has appeared in such films as “In the Fade” and “National Treasure,” didn’t specify which movie of hers Quentin Tarantino didn’t like. But she did say she had to foot her own bill for the audition process just to be considered.

“I had to pay for my own flight from New York to go to Germany because he wouldn’t, even though, obviously, he’s American, but he wouldn’t see me in the U.S.,” Kruger said. “So I had to jump through all these hoops that definitely put my nose out of joint, but I was like, ‘You know what? Fuck him! I’m just gonna do that and prove to him that I can do it.'”

She added, “Thankfully it all worked out, but sometimes it just seems so unfair and you’ve gotta change the narrative.”

Kruger also said the moment was likely enlightening for the director. “I think for him, too, that must’ve been a lesson. Sometimes you are the one that puts — and I’m sure I’m guilty of that too — you put people in boxes. You think they’re gonna be one way and then they’re not at all.”

Kruger’s performance in “Basterds” earned her a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for best supporting actress, as well as plenty of critical acclaim.

Back in 2018, when allegations of Quentin Tarantino’s on-set mistreatment of actors emerged, Kruger came to his defense in an Instagram post, saying, “I would like to say that my work experience with Quentin Tarantino was pure joy. He treated me with utter respect and never abused his power or forced me to do anything I wasn’t comfortable with.“

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