Once upon a time, Luke Perry was quintessential teen drama bad boy Dylan McKay. Now, the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum is something else entirely: the best dad on TV. Riverdale's Fred Andrews is often the only character on the CW series making sensible decisions, so it's hard to imagine that Perry once played such an incredibly reckless youth. Now, the actor is reinventing himself once again — this time, with a role in a major movie. According to Deadline, Perry has joined Quentin Tarantino's new movie, and all I can really say is — yay for Luke Perry!
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The upcoming film, titled Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is as star-studded as they come. Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, and Brad Pitt are all set to lead the new film, which is set in the summer of 1969 — just before Robbie's character Sharon Tate was killed by members of Charles Manson's cult.
DiCaprio will play Rick Dalton, a fallen star of a western TV series, and Pitt will portray his longtime stunt double, Cliff Booth. Both try to navigate a Hollywood they no longer recognize.
Which brings us back to Perry. According to Deadline, the actor will portray "Scotty Lancer" in the upcoming film. Though no details of the role were given, Scott Lancer is the name of a character portrayed by Wayne Maunder on the CBS western series Lancer, which ran from 1968 to 1970.
So, is Perry playing an actor, playing a character on a TV series? It's possible — though it's also likely that Tarantino used the name as a nod to western shows of that time period.
Also rounding out the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast is Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, Clifton Collins Jr., Keith Jefferson, Nicholas Hammond, Burt Reynolds, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Madsen and Tim Roth.
Perry will clearly be in good company, but I'm most excited to see this TV star don a cowboy hat and drawl. Let's make it happen, Tarantino.