As controversial director Quentin Tarantino seeks an actor to play Roman Polanski in his forthcoming film, a recording has surfaced of him defending the real Polanski in 2003.

Polanksi was accused of plying a 13-year-old girl with champagne and tranquilisers at a photoshoot in LA in 1977, then raping her at Jack Nicholson's house. He was initially charged with six felony counts, including rape and sodomy but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

He fled to Europe before he could be sentenced, and has never returned to America. Despite this, he won the Best Picture Oscar in 2002 for The Pianist.

Tarantino was asked about Polanski's Oscar win in an interview on the Howard Stern show in 2003, audio of which was recently republished by Jezebel.

The excerpt begins with Howard Stern playing a recording in which Tarantino told reporter Guy Garver that he thought it was "pretty cool" that Polanski had won. When Garvey asked "What' so great about a rapist being the recipient of Hollywood's highest honour?" he replied "I don't consider him a rapist".