Diane Kruger has called out Quentin Tarantino for his Inglourious Basterds casting methods. Photo / Getty Images
Diane Kruger has called out Quentin Tarantino for his Inglourious Basterds casting methods. Photo / Getty Images
Diane Kruger has claimed Quentin Tarantino originally didn't want her to be in the 2009 World War II film, Inglourious Basterds.
The German-born actress appeared on a podcast episode of Reign with Josh Smith and while discussing f*** you moments Kruger revealed that she almost didn't play the role of Bridget von Hammersmark in the film as Tarantino was questioning her acting abilities.
New York Post reported Kruger said she had to "jump through hoops" to secure her role continuing to say, "He auditioned everyone. 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."
Kruger shared on the podcast that the process was so difficult she even had to pay for her own flight to Germany where the casting took place.
"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 US. So I had to jump through all these hoops that definitely put my nose out of joint but I was like, 'You know what? F*** him! I'm just gonna do that and prove to him that I can do it'."
The cast of Inglourious Basterds pictured at the films Berlin premier. Photo / Getty Images
The actress was thankful it all worked out and ended up winning herself a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.
Despite their rough start in what the actress described as "unfair", Kruger took to social media to defend the Oscar-winning film-maker in 2018 when he was accused of mistreating actors.
"I would like to say that my work experience with Quentin Tarantino was pure joy," the actress shared on Instagram. "He treated me with utter respect and never abused his power or forced me to do anything I wasn't comfortable with."
A scene in Inglourious Basterds saw Kruger being strangled fueling rumours of Tarantino's mistreatment but he quickly put them to rest explain in a 2018 interview with Deadline.
"I went to Diane and I said, 'look, I've got to strangle you. If it's just a guy with his hands on your neck, not putting any kind of pressure and you're just doing this wiggling death rattle, it looks like a normal movie strangulation.'"
He further explained he would only do so with her permission to which she agreed.
