She said, "This had better work out, or I'm going to beat the living shit
out of him!" It was right after he finished doing WEGG, and was being
offered many roles. He says, "I rejected the role many times, because I
thought it was going to be a commercial film. Sharon Stone and everything. But
then, with one day to decide, I said "OK". I like Sam Raimi and this character
is really funny and cool!" Director Sam Raimi says of Leonardo, "He's the embodiment of wild youth.
The Kid thinks he can't die. All he wants out of life is his Father's respect.
He'll go to any lengths for that recognition." Leonardo describes the character as cocky and confident....until he gets near
his Father. Then he just begs for attention by trying to prove himself to
him...by killing faster and better than anyone else in the town. It was his very
first opportunity to play a death scene...but as we all know....it wasn't his
last! 'The Kid' was the best part of this movie. His death scene was something to
behold; his relationship with Stone on screen turned out to be no more than a
quick kiss that was "very brief and nothing to talk about" He says,"I
was expecting more from ole' Sharon, ya know? I wasn't about to get down and
dirty with her, but it was a bit of a letdown. Actually, she hurt my lip!"
The film did poorly at the box-office, but Leonardo says that he doesn't
regret doing it. He says he enjoyed playing such a 'cool' character, and even
though he knows the movie was not that good, the experience of working with
Hackman and Stone was something he would not have missed.
The 'Kid' was a role that Sharon
Stone wanted Leonardo to play.... she wasn't going to allow him to say 'No'! She
wanted him so bad that she came up with some of the money to pay him right out
of her own pocket...because the film had already topped out financially.
Here is a small collection of pictures from "The Quick and the Dead". Click on
the thumbnail to view the larger picture.
