Diane Kruger Reveals Quentin Tarantino Did Not Want Her In ‘Inglourious Basterds’

Diane Kruger's role in the 2009 World War II film "Inglorious Basterds" as German spy Bridget von Hammersmark was widely appreciated, but the actor says she almost didn't get the role, as the movie's director Quentin Tarantino didn't think she could pull it off.

The role even won her a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, but the 45-year-old actress claimed that Tarantino, 58, initially didn't want her to play the part because he didn't "believe" in her, according to E! Online.

The German-born actress made the revelation during an episode of the Reign with Josh Smith podcast.

"He auditioned everyone. He didn't want to audition me because he saw a movie that I was in that he didn't like," she explained. "So he didn't believe in me from the get-go. Literally, the only reason he auditioned me is because there was no one left to audition."

She then went on to state that since Tarantino wouldn't see her in the U.S., she had to pay for her own flight tickets to Germany to secure the role.

“I had to pay for my own flight from New York to go to Germany because he wouldn’t, even though, obviously, he’s American, but he wouldn’t see me in the US,” she continued. “So I had to jump through all these hoops that definitely put my nose out of joint, but I was like, ‘You know what? F – – k him! I’m just gonna do that and prove to him that I can do it.’"

She added: "Thankfully, it all worked out but sometimes it just seems so unfair, and you've got to change the narrative."

The mother-of-one then went on to say that this experience has also educated the Oscar-winning filmmaker, according to New York Post.

“I think for him, too, that must’ve been a lesson. Sometimes you are the one that puts — and I’m sure I’m guilty of that too — you put people in boxes. You think they’re gonna be one way and then they’re not at all.”

The "355" actor spoke about the incident when she and host Josh Smith were discussing "f--k you moments" they had experienced in their lives. This is not the first time Kruger — who trained as a ballerina before pursuing a career in acting — faced rejections, both as an actor and dancer. But, she said these experiences only turned her into a stronger person.

"It's taken me a long time to be above that," she said, adding: "It's not easy every day. It's just that when you're older, I think you have other things going on in your life so it's more like, ‘F--k you!'"