Quentin Tarantino assembled one of the biggest casts of his filmography for his Spaghetti Western Django Unchained, featuring revered actors playing complex characters. Set in the Deep South during the time of slavery in America, Django Unchained revolves around a freed slave training in the art of killing so that he can exact revenge on sadistic white plantation owners. During his vengeful crusade, Django meets a couple of allies and makes plenty of enemies, all of whom make up a sprawling ensemble. The main cast is led by some of Hollywood's biggest stars, and the supporting cast consists of renowned character actors.
Tarantino had used tropes, music cues, and filmmaking techniques from the Western genre in his previous movies, but Django Unchained was his first straightforward Western about a gunslinging antihero on the frontier. The movie's cast includes actors who had worked with Tarantino before, like Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz, and actors who would go on to work with him again, like Leonardo DiCaprio and Walton Goggins. Django Unchained’s star-studded cast took home the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Ensemble, and one of the movie's two Oscar wins was in an acting category.
Jamie Foxx As Django Freeman
The titular ex-slave in Django Unchained gives himself the name Django Freeman after being emancipated from the shackles of slavery. His name is taken from one of the most iconic franchises in the Spaghetti Western genre. The character is played by Jamie Foxx, one of Hollywood’s most prolific multi-hyphenate talents, having achieved success as a musician and a standup comedian in addition to acting. He won an Oscar, among many other awards, for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the biopic Ray. He also starred in Collateral and Dreamgirls and played Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Christoph Waltz As Dr. King Schultz
Django’s mentor and closest friend, German dentist-turned-bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, is played by Christoph Waltz. The actor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his turn as Dr. Schultz in Django Unchained. He had previously won the award for playing the villainous Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino’s World War II epic Inglourious Basterds. Waltz also starred in Terry Gilliam’s sci-fi opus The Zero Theorem, Tim Burton’s art biopic Big Eyes, and Wes Anderson’s quirky dramedy The French Dispatch. He played Ernst Stavro Blofeld opposite Daniel Craig’s James Bond in Spectre and No Time to Die.
Leonardo DiCaprio As Calvin J. Candie
The deeply unsettling yet delightfully camp villain of Django Unchained, notorious slaver Calvin J. Candie, is played by Leonardo DiCaprio. It’s rare that DiCaprio plays villains; he usually plays the protagonist, like Titanic’s Jack Dawson or Inception’s dream-infiltrating Dom Cobb. However, he has often played morally gray antiheroes, like con artist Frank Abagnale Jr. in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can and Jordan Belfort in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. DiCaprio reunited with Tarantino to play the more sympathetic role of has-been TV cowboy Rick Dalton in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Kerry Washington As Broomhilda Von Shaft
Django’s estranged wife of German heritage, Broomhilda von Shaft, is played by Kerry Washington. The character turns the story into a sort of fairy tale as Django gallantly journeys across a dangerous land to free the princess from her tower. Washington is best known for playing crisis manager Olivia Pope in the hit TV series Scandal. She also played Anita Hill in the HBO movie Confirmation and Ben Grimm’s love interest, Alicia Masters, in Fox’s Fantastic Four movies. She previously co-starred with Jamie Foxx in Ray, playing the role of Ray Charles’s second wife, Della Bea.
Samuel L. Jackson As Stephen
Calvin Candie’s sinister house slave, Stephen, the secondary villain of Django Unchained, is played by Samuel L. Jackson. Stephen is the one who figures out that Django and Broomhilda have a history together and that Dr. Schultz’s purchase of Broomhilda an ulterior motive. Jackson had previously worked with Quentin Tarantino on Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown and had brief cameo appearances in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 and Inglourious Basterds. Outside his work with Tarantino, Jackson is known for starring in Unbreakable and Snakes on a Plane, and for working with Spike Lee on movies like School Daze and Jungle Fever. In 2022, Jackson received an Honorary Academy Award.
Walton Goggins As Billy Crash
Billy Crash, the head overseer at the Candyland plantation, is played by Walton Goggins. Billy has a particular personal vendetta against Django and relishes the opportunity to torture him after he’s captured. Tarantino gave Goggins a larger and less horrifying role as Chris Mannix in his next movie, The Hateful Eight. Goggins is best known for his TV roles as Detective Shane Vendrell on The Shield and career criminal Boyd Crowder on Justified. He also played the secondary villain Sonny Burch in the MCU's Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Django Unchained Supporting Cast & Characters
James Remar as Ace Speck and Butch Pooch - James Remar plays two roles in Django Unchained. He appears as Django’s former owner, Ace Speck, and then he's also Candie’s bodyguard, Butch Pooch. Remar is best known for playing Ajax in The Warriors and Harry Morgan, the titular killer’s father, in Dexter.
M.C. Gainey as Big John Brittle - Big John Brittle, the first of many bounties Django brings in, is played by M.C. Gainey. Gainey is best known for playing Tom Friendly in Lost and Earl “Swamp Thing” Williams in Con Air.
Bruce Dern as Old Man Carrucan - The owner of the Carrucan plantation, Old Man Carrucan, is played by Bruce Dern. The actor rose to prominence in the New Hollywood era with roles in Silent Running, The Driver, and Coming Home. He later worked with Quentin Tarantino again in The Hateful Eight and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Don Johnson as Spencer “Big Daddy” Bennett - Plantation owner Spencer “Big Daddy” Bennett is played by Don Johnson. The actor is best known for playing Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice. More recently, he played Richard Drysdale in Knives Out.
Jonah Hill as Bag Head #2 - Jonah Hill has a cameo as one of the hooded raiders in Big Daddy’s posse. Hill got his start in comedies like Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall and has since earned Oscar nods for his more dramatic turns in Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Franco Nero as Amerigo Vessepi - Franco Nero has a cameo appearance in Django Unchained as an Italian slaver named Amerigo Vessepi. Nero is one of the most iconic stars of classic Spaghetti Westerns. Most notably, he played the original Django in Sergio Corbucci’s seminal 1966 movie.
Laura Cayouette as Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly - Calvin Candie’s sister, Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly, is played by Laura Cayouette. The actress is known for her recurring role as Marlene in Queen Sugar. She’s also an author, having written the Charlotte Reade Mysteries series.
Quentin Tarantino as a LeQuint Dickey Mining Company employee - As he does in most of his movies, Quentin Tarantino gave himself a cameo appearance in Django Unchained. The director can be seen in larger acting roles in From Dusk till Dawn and Sukiyaki Western Django.