Timothy Olyphant Remembers Costar Luke Perry in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’: ‘I’m Going to Miss Him’

He may have suddenly passed away in March after suffering a stroke, but fans of Luke Perry will get to see the beloved star take his final bow on the big screen this summer in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood — and his costar Timothy Olyphant opened up about the bittersweet situation.

“What a lovely guy. Just a lovely guy. I’m going to miss him at that premiere. I’m going to miss him. I’m going to miss him anyway,” Timothy, 50, recently told Variety at the New York City premiere of his animated film Missing Link.

Timothy recalled working opposite Luke on the Quentin Tarantino film that he called a “dream come true” to be apart of. “We just met on the film, but the two of us showed up, and we kept looking at each other like, ‘How’d we get in? I don’t know who let us in, but they let us in,’” Timothy jokingly said as he reminisced. “There were so many moments where it just felt like the two of us would look at each other and we both had the same look on our face, which is, ‘Not bad. Here we are.’”

The Santa Clarita Diet star added that although he and Luke weren’t particularity close while filming, he remembered him for his sincerity and kindness. “I haven’t met anyone who’s ever said a bad thing about the guy, and that was my experience hanging out with him and working with him,” Tim shared. “He was the best kind of actor. He was a craftsman. He was all about the work. No bulls—t. He showed up early and did his work, and we spent most of our time talking about our families and just enjoying the job. Just a lovely guy.”

Timothy and Luke will be acting alongside Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, who star as a washed-up actor and his longtime stunt double. The film takes place in 1969 Hollywood and tells the story of the rise of the Charles Manson cult, with Brad and Leo’s character living next door to Sharon Tate, the actress who was famously killed in the Manson murders.

Luke — who was able to finish shooting all his scenes for the upcoming crime and drama film before his heartbreaking death — will portray the role of real-life actor Wayne Maunder, who co-starred in the late ’60s TV western film Lancer with actor James Stacy, who will be played by Tim. We can’t wait to see how they honor Luke with this incredible movie.