Quentin Tarantino introduced moviegoers to an incredible pair of characters in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. One of these characters, however, appears to have had his own fictional death years after the events of the film. Indeed, according to Tarantino himself, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton is dead.
Tarantino shared as much while speaking on his podcast The Video Archives. The podcast, which he co-hosts with Roger Avary, tied in with a number of tweets regarding Rick Dalton’s death. As such, his recent episode is said to have been “a memorial episode signed by Quentin that features some of Rick’s best roles.”
The tweet can be seen below where the following is shared regarding Rick Dalton:
“We are saddened by the news of the passing of actor Rick Dalton, best known for his roles in the hit TV series Bounty Law and The Fireman trilogy.
Rick passed away peacefully in his home in Hawaii and is survived by his wife Francesca.
RIP Rick Dalton 1933-2023″
Because of his passing, the episode for Rollerball has been postponed. Instead, we will come back on Tuesday with a memorial episode designed by Quentin that features some of Rick’s best roles.
— The Video Archives Podcast (@VideoArchives) May 19, 2023
As mentioned, Rick Dalton is a fictional character from the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The 2019 comedy drama takes place during an interesting point in time. Specifically during 1969 Los Angeles. This places the film right around the time of the murder of Sharon Tate. As such, the film does revolve around such matters, but also the various changes throughout the film industry at the time.
Rick Dalton in particular is at the center of it all as an actor trying to find meaning in his career. Likewise, the same can be said for Brad Pitt’s character Cliff Booth. He often acts as a stuntman for Rick and similarly struggles to find his place.
With that said, it’s nice to know that Rick Dalton at least would have had a long life set after the events of the film. Perhaps Tarantino will shed more light on the character in future projects. For now, however, fans can certainly honor the character by watching the hit film yet again.