The Cringey Moment Margaret Qualley Had With Brad Pitt
Celebrities. They're just like us and even have their own embarrassing moments. As Margaret Qualley ascends the ranks of Tinseltown, the actor offered to look back on the awkward moments that led her to success.
But despite becoming one of the most well-known actors in Hollywood, Qualley did not always want to act. In fact, since her mom, Andie MacDowell, was famous in Hollywood, Qualley wanted nothing to do with it. That is until her run as a professional dancer turned model went downhill. "I struggled ... in the brief interim when I was modeling because, with ballet, there was at least so much work," Qualley explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "With modeling, it was like, 'Okay, how do I work hard? I guess I get really f***ing skinny?' ... So I did that and then I was like, 'Well I'm miserable.'"
After trying all of the professions within performing arts and finding no satisfaction, Qualley knew it was time to try the one thing she didn't want to try — acting. And after giving it a go, Qualley fell in love with acting and her newfound career. But beginning a new career doesn't come without some bumps in the road. So while Qualley has already made a name for herself in Hollywood, the star is now opening up about the awkward moments she encountered when first starting out.
Margaret Qualley showed her feet to Brad Pitt on the set of 'Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood'
Let's just say Margaret Qualley definitely put her foot in her mouth on the set of "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood."
In the 2019 Quentin Tarantino film, Qualley played the role of Pussycat, while Brad Pitt starred as Cliff. And while the pair's on-screen chemistry was undeniable, for Qualley, there was an undeniably awkward moment between her and Pitt when working on set. While working through a scene where Qualley is supposed to put her feet on the dashboard of Pitt's car, Qualley remembers actually pulling out her feet in front of Pitt during a screening — in hopes Pitt and Tarantino would get her a foot double. "I was like, 'Guys, look, these are awful," Qualley revealed to The Hollywood Reporter in 2019. "I hate my feet more than anything on the f***ing planet."
That hatred for her feet comes after years as a professional ballerina. "We had a big debate about it, me, Quentin, and Brad, with them trying to be like 'You're fine,' and me being like, 'No, guys, really, look these are not good," Qualley told IndieWire. "I'm genuinely telling you these are not good feet." But despite her detestation, that didn't stop Tarantino from making Qualley put her feet up on the dash in the movie. And, in an ironic turn of events for Qualley, it became the scene from the movie that led to her breakthrough in Hollywood.
Margaret Qualley explained she had to be 'messy' while filming
While Margaret Qualley showing her bare feet to Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino is an undeniably awkward moment, Qualley reveals that wasn't the only one. In fact, while filming the movie, Tarantino encouraged Qualley to be "messy" and fully embrace her character as Pussycat.
And that is exactly what Qualley did, diving into the tousled, carefree persona of Pussycat. "I realized that I have a lot more fun if I trust the director because if you really trust the people that you're working with, you don't have to watch your own back as much," Qualley said, per IndieWire. "You can kind of just feel free to do whatever if you feel like you are on the same page with the people that you're working with. It makes your job so much easier."
And finding that ease allowed Qualley to make it big. Following the success of "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood," Qualley was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, per IMDb. And even though showing her feet to Pitt and Tarantino wasn't Qualley's best moment, in her opinion, them forcing her to show her feet led her to love herself as an actor a little bit more. "I used to actually be pretty mortified with my feet," Qualley told IndieWire. "Maybe I can finally just give that up now."