“The (Django) production was just out of control, over-budget it was everywhere. I had to formally withdraw. They recast it and they still haven’t shot anything. I could have said nothing and just hung out I could be there shooting it now.”

That’s the money quote Anthony LaPaglia told news.com.au yesterday in an interview about why he left Django Unchained. LaPaglia was to play a small part in the film, but claims he had to leave due to scheduling conflicts.

Prior to joining the Django Unchained cast, LaPaglia committed to Underground, an Australian TV movie about Julian Assange. LaPaglia initially thought he could do both projects, but was forced to choose between the two as the Django Unchained filming kept getting pushed back. Since he was instrumental in the TV movie’s development and his role in Django Unchained small, he opted to support Underground. LaPaglia does not mince words about what the Django Unchained crew thought of his decision:

“The people at Django, their attitude more or less was, ‘Just dump the other film’, but I couldn’t do it out of respect to (director) Rob Connolly, out of respect to the material, out of respect to the commitment I’d made.”

LaPaglia, however, did try to put a positive spin on the whole situation:

“I had as much fun being a part of the film, probably more fun, than even shooting it. Quentin is brilliant and I love him. That’s just the way it goes.”

LaPaglia was to play the role of Roy in Django Unchained. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was slated to play Roy’s brother before he had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. It’s unclear if these parts were recast, rewritten, or omitted entirely due to the cast changes.

Found via indieWIRE.