More like twice upon a time in Hollywood, as unusual casting news has come across the wire. The Square's Damon Herriman has been cast to play Charles Manson, not once but twice; one time in a high-profile movie and the other in a high-profile Netflix series. The first is Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the other being the TV series Mindhunter, which is executive produced by David Fincher. With this news, both projects share more in common than having Manson as a topic.
So, which project cast Herriman as Manson first? Netflix's Mindhunter did, per an exclusive report by Collider. The news comes as Damon Herriman's casting in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was announced first. In actuality, Mindhunter had already cast Herriman as Manson for its upcoming season, when the announcement was made by the movie.
Making the casting even more unusual is that Damon Herriman will not play Manson across multiple years of the actor's life. Instead, he played the role within a matter of months, since Herriman filmed his Mindhunter scenes in July. One may be wonder why an actor would want to take on the same role twice and in such a short span of time. Well, you should know there is a slight twist.
While it is unusual for an actor to play the same exact role more than once, Damon Herriman will not be giving a completely repeat performance as Charles Manson. As he will portray the murderer at different stages of his life. On Mindhunter, Herriman will play Manson during some point in the 80s. A time when he was nearly a decade into his lifetime incarceration. Whereas in Quentin Tarantino's movie, Herriman will play Manson during 1969, the year of the Tate-LaBianca murders.
The casting of Damon Herriman in the role of Charles Manson twice also illuminates a bit of the plot line for Mindhunter's second season. While Manson was expected to play a role in Quentin Tarantino's movie, given its subject, his being portrayed on Mindhunter was less of a done deal.
It is not entirely surprising news though. Mindhunter, which chronicles two FBI agents' investigation into the psychology of murderers, had hinted at Manson's eventual inclusion in the series during its first season. Little is known about the plot line for the second season of Mindhunter, so this is a clue as to what's to come.
Netflix has yet to announce a premiere date for the second season of Mindhunter, so stay tuned. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will arrive in theaters July 26, 2019. For new television content set to premiere on Netflix this year, check out our 2018 Netflix premiere rundown. For the new television shows that will arrive this fall, check out CinemaBlend's guide to TV's fall premieres.
