Quentin Tarantino Recalls Awkward First Meeting with Martin Scorsese

Quentin Tarantino recently shared the story of meeting Martin Scorsese for the very first time back in 1995, and it was more awkward than he ever imagined.

At that time, Scorsese was deep into filming his epic crime drama Casino, which starred Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Don Rickles, Kevin Pollak, and James Woods. The movie tells the story of Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a rising mobster brought in to manage his boss’s illegal casino, the Tangiers.

As Sam’s relationships with his volatile enforcer Nicky Santoro, his ex-wife Ginger, and corrupt casino patrons get strained, danger builds at every turn.

Tarantino, who was acting in a different film in Las Vegas at the time, received an invitation to visit the Casino set. “I was acting in a movie in Vegas, and it just turned out that, during that time, Martin Scorsese was doing Casino,” Tarantino recalled to Outstanding Screenplays. “And I’d never really met Martin Scorsese before. And so I got an invite to visit the set of Casino.”

Excitement quickly gave way to nerves. “This is right up there with the gates of Oz opening,” he remembered thinking. “I’m going to meet the wizard.” But before Tarantino could even shake hands with the legendary director, he ran straight into Don Rickles, who played the head of security at the Tangiers Casino.

Rickles immediately launched into a dramatic and hilarious welcome, which completely caught Tarantino off guard. “So I’m walking to meet the wizard, I’m walking on the set, they kind of see me, and then Don Rickles goes, ‘Quentin, thank God you’re here. This guy [Scorsese] doesn’t know what he’s doing at all. Thank God a real director has finally shown up – this cat is out of it. Please save – this is a disaster. It’s a disaster! – please save us from this wreckage. You are a talented man. We need your talent.’”

Tarantino was mortified as he looked around to see the entire cast and crew laughing. “Marty is laughing; the crew is laughing; De Niro is laughing. [But] I wanna hide under the carpet,” he admitted.

That chaotic and comedic introduction perfectly encapsulated the intensity, energy, and humor of a Scorsese set, leaving Tarantino with a memory he would never forget.

Looking back, Tarantino sees that moment as a mix of awe and humility. Meeting Scorsese, someone he had long admired, while also being playfully roasted by Don Rickles and surrounded by the cast of one of the decade’s most acclaimed films, was both terrifying and thrilling. It’s a story that highlights the humanity, humor, and larger-than-life personalities that make Hollywood so memorable.

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