How Don Rickles Humiliated Quentin Tarantino On The Casino Set

Summary Quentin Tarantino was pranked by Don Rickles on the set of Casino, with Rickles jokingly begging Tarantino to "save" the film.

Rickles also insulted Robert De Niro during filming, causing De Niro to break character and laugh along with Scorsese.

Rickles' ability to make others crack up on set made directing him difficult, but Scorsese and De Niro fondly recall their time with him.

Don Rickles plays a character far removed from his public persona as a sharp-tongued comic in Casino, but he still had plenty of fun at the expense of people like Quentin Tarantino and Robert DeNiro when the cameras weren't rolling. Rickles appears in Martin Scorsese's underrated Casino as Billy Sherbert, Sam "Ace" Rothstein's (Robert De Niro) head of security. Neither an executive nor a gangster, Billy is simply a capable employee and one of Ace's most useful men on the floor. He's also a surprisingly humorless character.

Don Rickles was the ultimate insult comic, and was making audiences laugh at outrageous and pointed comedy for over a half-century before he passed in 2017. Alongside his unimpeachable career as a stand-up, Rickles had an impressive filmography. One of his first features was the famous submarine movie Run Silent, Run Deep, and his final role was Toy Story 4, where archival voice recordings were used for Mr. Potato Head. In between were numerous projects with high-profile celebrities, including Casino where Rickles ribbed an impressionable Quentin Tarantino.

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Don Rickles Jokingly Begged Quentin Tarantino To Save The Casino Movie When The Young Director Visited The Set

The Comedian Pretended To Beg Tarantino To Save The Film

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Casino was filmed in 1995 after Quentin Tarantino had become a film festival darling with Reservoir Dogs in 1992, and then a cultural, critical, and artistic phenomenon with Pulp Fiction in 1994. With only two directed films under his belt, Tarantino had already rocketed to mainstream stardom (unheard of for a director) and become the type of filmmaker whose movies audiences would go see without even knowing what they were about. Even today, for many people, if it's a Tarantino production, that's all they need to hear — they'll be there.

Tarantino's success and talent led to him being invited to the set of Casino, a dream as the director describes on the 2 Bears 1 Cave podcast,

"I'd just done Pulp Fiction. I've only done two movies. I'm meeting one of my heroes for the very first time. I'm walking on Scorsese's set, I'm gonna have lunch with him later. This is right up there with the gates of Oz opening up, and I'm gonna meet the wizard."

A renowned film buff, this would have been everything he ever wanted. Then Don Rickles spoke up and popped the balloon, according to Tarantino,

"And then Don Rickles goes, 'Quentin! Thank god you're here! This guy doesn't know what he's doing at all! Thank god a real director has finally shown up! This cat is out of it. Please save us. This is a disaster, it's a disaster. Please save us from this wreckage. You are a talented man, we need your talent!' Marty is laughing, the crew is laughing, De Niro is laughing. I want to hide under the carpet!"

This was a young director's big chance to meet his hero and learn something about filmmaking, and Rickles put him on the spot. It was all in jest, of course, and was Rickles' way of welcoming Tarantino, but for someone who would never want one of his heroes like Scorsese to think he had a big head, Rickles knew exactly where to hit him.

Rickles Also Insulted Robert De Niro While Filming Casino

Rickles was not afraid to rib anyone he was on set with, whether that was the "kid" director Tarantino or a movie star like Robert De Niro. In Casino, Rickles mocked De Niro during one of their scenes together. The blooper shows De Niro stumbling over his lines and looking at cards. Rickles breaks character to say, via AARP,

For the kind of money you're making, what do you need a card? Learn the thing. You got a pop-up trailer, sit in there and study ... with your method acting, and the breathing, and the bull***t. Read the lines and let's get out of here."

What makes his irritation even funnier is that De Niro breaks down laughing, now completely unable to read his lines, and Scorsese can be heard laughing heartily off-camera. Rickles' ability to make everyone crack up on set made directing him difficult. Scorsese and Rickles reminisce,

Scorsese: "A lot of people ask me, they say: 'Who was tougher to deal with, Bob or Don?' And obviously, it was him [Rickles]. 'Cause one of the main things is that he didn't have to speak. So you could imagine. You had to keep quiet through a lot of the scenes." Rickles: "It was just the looks we had, remember? Just making a lot of faces. That was funny."

Without any lines, Rickles had free rein to create chaos anytime he was on the Casino set, and try to get others to break. Clearly, he was successful enough that Scorsese still recalls the experience all those years later. Far from being an exasperating memory, Scorsese was delighted by his time spent with Rickles, as was De Niro.

The trio shared a special friendship, having given each other awards and spoken at ceremonies for one another over the years. That De Niro, Scorsese, and Tarantino can all look back fondly on their Casino experiences with Don Rickles and laugh warmly shows that there was always love in his joking.