Quentin Tarantino has offered some new Once Upon a Time in Hollywood character details – specifically in regards to the roles played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. The new Tarantino flick has a stacked cast, but DiCaprio, Pitt and Margot Robbie are likely to get the most attention. Robbie is playing real-life figure Sharon Tate, and we already know a lot about her. But what of the characters portrayed by DiCaprio and Pitt? According to Tarantino, DiCaprio’s character is a self-pitying has-been, and Pitt plays “one of the deadliest guys alive.”

We’re all pretty darn excited around these parts for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and our curiosity is more than piqued. The basic plot of the film is well-known: Tarantino tracks several characters in Hollywood in 1969, with the Manson Family murders looming in the background. We also know that the filmmaker has assembled an incredible cast to bring his vision to life, and some of these actors are playing real-life figures. But what of the fictional individuals that sprung from Tarantino’s brain? Especially our two leads, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt? It’s been reported that DiCaprio is playing a washed-up Western TV star named Rick Dalton, and Pitt is his longtime friend and stuntman Cliff Booth. Speaking with USA Today, Tarantino offered up some more info regarding these two.

According to the director, DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton is “a man full of inner turmoil and self-pity for not being in a better position, career-wise. But as is Rick’s way, he blames everybody but himself.” This will no doubt lead to several comical situations, some of which have already been teased in the film’s trailer. The last time we saw DiCaprio on screen, he was crawling through the mud and eating raw bison liver in The Revenant, for which he won his long-sought-after Best Actor Academy Award. But despite that grim and grimy role, DiCaprio has a great knack for comedy – something that Martin Scorsese exploited to its fullest for The Wolf of Wall Street. It’ll be nice to see DiCaprio show off his comedic chops again, now that he has that Oscar.

As for Pitt’s Cliff Booth, Tarantino describes the character as an “indestructible…World War II hero and one of the deadliest guys alive.” The director adds: “He could kill you with a spoon, a piece of paper or a business card. Consequently, he is a rather Zen dude who is troubled by very little.” Pitt can also excel at comedy, given the right material – as he did in Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds. I’m sold on all of this, and I’d like to see this movie immediately.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood opens July 26, 2019.