Damon Herrimanhad fans seeing double this summer.
The Australian actor, 49, played the role of infamous California cult leader Charles Manson in not one but two high-profile projects: director Quentin Tarantino’s big screen dramaOnce Upon a Time… in Hollywoodand the second season of Netflix’sMindhunter(both out now).
As it turns out, the stunt wasn’t planned — it was all just an accident.
“Bizarrely, it was a coincidence,” Herriman toldVulture. “Two productions happened to have a Charles Manson character in them, and I had an opportunity to audition for both. That’s pretty much it.”
“If you’re going for a character like Charles Manson, you can only cast people of a certain height, so that narrows the pool because the guy was incredibly short,” Herriman added. “A lot shorter than me, but I’m only 5’7″, so I scraped into the pool.”
Sony Pictures; Don Arnold/WireImage; Netflix
ThoughOnce Upon a Time… in Hollywoodcame out first, hitting theaters last month, Herriman was actually cast inMindhunterfirst.
The role inOnce Upon a Time… in Hollywoodcame after fellow Australian actor Nicholas Hammond and Herriman’s formerJustifiedcostar Timothy Olyphant — both friends — suggested Tarantino consider Herriman.
“Together they brought up my name when they’d heard that Manson hadn’t been cast yet and suggested me to Quentin,” Herriman said toVulture, noting that he didn’t tell Tarantino about hisMindhunterrole.
“I didn’t think that would be a great idea because at that point I already hadMindhunter. I thought that even going for the same character again was a completely fruitless exercise, but I also didn’t want tonotdo an audition for Quentin Tarantino.”
“Luckily for me, it didn’t bother him,” Herriman added.
Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage
Both projects ended up shooting within two weeks of one another, Herriman revealed toVulture.
Those two weeks were “as weird as it sounds,” Herriman said, “but also very cool.”
Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage; Frank Q. Brown/Los Angeles Times/Getty
source: people.com
