David Duchovny Describes the Hilarious Way Director Quentin Tarantino Rejected Him After He Auditioned for RESERVOIR DOGS

Reservoir Dogs is one of director Quentin Tarantino’s first and most beloved films. It’s an uber-violent heist movie with the fast-paced, smart dialogue we have come to expect from a Tarantino flick, and if things had gone differently, Mr. Orange, who was famously played by Tim Roth, could have been portrayed by X-Files actor David Duchovny.

Recently, Duchovny and his You People co-star, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, sat down with Collider, where they also talked about some of the hits and misses of their careers. Duchovny said:

“I auditioned for Reservoir Dogs. That was like in the late ‘80s.”

Louis-Dreyfus couldn’t pass up teasing Duchovny, who obviously didn’t get the part, by asking, “Did you get it?” Duchovny played along, replying:

“Yeah. I'm fantastic in it. They did this head replacement of Tim Roth on me. It really pissed me off. I didn't know. I went to the premiere, and I was like, ‘Oh, Tim Roth's head is on mine.’”

He then turned back to reality, and recalled:

“So I auditioned for Quentin Tarantino, and this is not an imitation of Quentin, but he's a high-energy guy, and he goes, ‘I really like what you do. I just don't know if I want you to do it in my movie.’ It was the best rejection I ever got in my life.”

I don’t know about you, but I can absolutely hear that in Tarantino’s voice. Although it’s a rejection, it feels genuine, and we know now that he has such a vision for his films, from the dialogue to the costumes to the music. He can see it all in his mind’s eye before it comes to life, and if you aren’t the actor for the part, it’s only because he has something else in his vision. He is such a character, himself.

Can you imagine Duchovny in the role?