Before his career really took off, Leonardo DiCaprio was in one of the most underrated Westerns of all time, largely due to one of his co-stars paying his salary. Leonardo DiCaprio's filmography is incredibly strong, and despite being considered a teen heartthrob early in his career, some of DiCaprio's best films are also among the best of the modern era. Still, there was a time when he was still trying to establish himself in various roles, even after his lauded performance in 1993. What's eating Gilbert Grape.
Before the mega stardom provided by names like both Romeo + Juliet and TitanicDiCaprio was cast in a western film directed by Sam Raimi, which would end up getting lost among his major films before and after. And his involvement only happened because one of his co-stars saw enough potential in him, years before his break, to insist that he be cast. It's this actor we can thank for his underrated role as The Kid in The Fast and the Dead.
The Quick & The Dead is painfully underrated
Sam Raimi's Western deserves much more praise
Sandwiched between Sam Raimi's groundbreaking evil Dead trilogy and its Spider-Man trilogy, The Fast and the Dead is arguably the most underrated film of all time and one of the most underrated westerns of all time. When it was first released, The Fast and the Dead it received mixed reviews from critics, not living up to the standard of other Raimi films and westerns that came before it. Over the years, however, the film gained a cult following, fitting in perfectly with the rest of Sam Raimi's films.
The cast of The Fast and the Dead is also incredibly impressive, boasting such famous names as Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe and Sharon Stone alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. What it does The Fast and the Dead What stands out alongside some of the best films in the western genre is Sam Raimi's insistence on bringing his style to whatever film he's making. The result is that the 1995 western has all the trappings of a Sam Raimi filmright down to the inventive camera movements and absurd editing choices. It's a unique Western experience that only a filmmaker like Raimi could offer.
The Quick & The Dead only happened because of Sharon Stone
Stone used his star power in exactly the right way
Despite a more recent reassessment, there was a time when The Fast and the Dead fought to happen, and it was largely thanks to Sharon Stone that it happened. Not only did she star in the film, but she also produced it, receiving her first producer credit in the process, not long after her starring role in Basic Instinct. It's fair to say that Stone pulled all the important strings: first, he urged the studio to hire Sam Raimi to direct, after being impressed with his work on Army of Darkness a few years earlier, and delaying the film so that Russell Crowe could be brought in despite living in Australia.
Sharon Stone was essentially responsible for putting the right pieces together, which allowed it to age gracefully as one of the most underrated Westerns of all time.
Your dedication The Fast and the Dead it was remarkable, and she gave one of her best performances in it. It takes a lot of talent and effort to star in major Hollywood films, and even more so to be an integral part of the film's production behind the scenes. Even though she wasn't the one who greenlit the film, Stone was essentially responsible for putting the right pieces together.
Sharon Stone paid Leonardo DiCaprio's salary in The Quick & The Dead
When you recognize rising talent, sometimes you have to take a stand
Since he was still early in his career, Leonardo DiCaprio wouldn't even be cast in the film, thanks to the studio's supposed reluctance. He hadn't done Romeo + Juliet and had not yet been released anywhere near the levels of stardom it would have a few years later because of Titanicwhich gave the studio pause, despite already having impressive performances. In her book, "The Beauty of Living Twice" (via Insider), Sharon Stone entered the hiring process and how she ended up paying DiCaprio's salary for him to get the role, stating:
“This kid named Leonardo DiCaprio was the only one who got the audition right, in my opinion… The studio said if I wanted him so bad, I could pay him out of my own salary.
Aside from the fact that paying DiCaprio's salary was a remarkable and selfless thing to do, it elevated The Fast and the Dead even more so, because The Kid is an integral part of the story. It was an early role that showed what DiCaprio was capable of and what he could become, and it's a miracle that Stone took the kind of chance that she did. In the end, everything worked out, because The Fast and the Dead is one of DiCaprio's most underrated roles and deserves to be considered a staple of the western genre.