You’ve seen the movie. You’ve probably seen it three times. But there is a weird little detail in the middle of Quentin Tarantino’s blood-soaked masterpiece that trips people up every single time they notice it. I’m talking about James Remar.
If you look closely at the opening scene of the film—the one where Dr. King Schultz’s carriage comes jingling out of the dark woods—you see Remar playing Ace Speck. He’s the slave trader with the mean streak and the unfortunate luck of meeting a dentist-turned-bounty-hunter. Schultz puts a bullet right between his eyes. End of character, right?
Not quite.
Later in the movie, once the action shifts to the "Candyland" plantation, James Remar just... shows up again. This time he’s Butch Pooch, the quiet, moustachioed bodyguard to Leonardo DiCaprio’s Calvin Candie. He’s not playing Ace’s long-lost twin. He’s not a ghost. He’s a completely different guy. Honestly, it’s one of those things that once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
The Dual Roles of James Remar in Django Unchained
It’s actually a pretty poetic piece of casting if you think about it. James Remar plays the very first person Dr. King Schultz kills in the movie (Ace Speck). Then, at the end of the second act, during that chaotic shootout at the dinner table, Remar—as Butch Pooch—is the one who fires the fatal shot into Schultz’s chest.
Talk about full circle.
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The man who died first gets to kill the man who killed him. It’s the kind of meta-narrative that Tarantino absolutely loves. He’s a student of old-school cinema, and back in the day, especially in Spaghetti Westerns or low-budget exploitation films, actors would often "double up" on roles to save money. If an actor was good and they already had them on set, why not throw a fake beard on them and put them in another scene?
In the case of James Remar Django Unchained, it wasn’t just about saving a buck. Tarantino specifically wanted Remar for both parts because he liked the symmetry. Remar has this weathered, old-Hollywood face that fits perfectly into the 1850s. Whether he’s wearing the dusty rags of a slaver or the velvet vest of a high-society bodyguard, he just looks like he belongs in the frame.
What’s the Story Behind the Hat?
There is this specific moment that fans always point to as a "wink" to the audience about the double casting. When Django and Schultz arrive at Candyland, Butch Pooch is sitting there, and Django gives him a hard time for wearing his hat inside.
"You don't wear a hat in the house, white boy," Django says.
Now, some fans have theorized that Butch is wearing the hat to hide the scar from where Ace Speck was shot in the forehead. It’s a fun theory. Kinda wild, right? But it’s probably just a theory. Butch Pooch is uneasy around Django, and the hat thing is more about the changing power dynamics than a secret wound. Still, the fact that James Remar is under that hat makes the scene feel a little more charged for those of us paying attention.
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Why Did Tarantino Do It?
There’s no official "making of" documentary that explicitly says why this happened, but if you follow Tarantino’s career, you know he does this stuff all the time. Look at Michael Parks in the Kill Bill movies. He plays the Texas Ranger Earl McGraw in the first one, and then shows up as Esteban Vihaio in the second.
It creates a sense of a "company" of actors.
James Remar is a legend. You know him as Ajax from The Warriors or Harry Morgan from Dexter. He has this incredible screen presence where he can be terrifying and fatherly at the same time. In Django Unchained, he basically represents the two sides of the same coin: the gritty, unwashed cruelty of the slave trade (Ace) and the polished, institutionalized violence of the plantation (Butch).
The Significance of the Second Kill
The death of Dr. King Schultz is the emotional pivot of the entire movie. It’s sudden. It’s shocking. And it’s Butch Pooch who pulls the trigger.
If it had been any other random henchman, it might not have felt as final. But there’s something about it being Remar. It’s like the movie is saying that violence is a cycle. You can’t just shoot your way out of a system like slavery without that system eventually catching up to you.
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What This Means for Your Next Rewatch
Next time you put on the movie, pay attention to the way Remar carries himself as Butch compared to Ace. As Ace, he’s loud, aggressive, and clearly thinks he’s the toughest guy in the woods. As Butch, he’s much more reserved. He watches everything. He’s a professional.
It’s a masterclass in character acting.
Most people don't even realize it's the same guy until their second or third viewing. That's the hallmark of a great performance—when the actor disappears so completely into the role that you forget you've already seen them die an hour ago.
If you want to really appreciate what James Remar brought to the table, look at the scene where Calvin Candie is showing off the skull. Watch Butch in the background. He’s not just a prop; he’s a looming threat. He’s the physical manifestation of the danger Schultz and Django are in.
To get the most out of your next viewing of Django Unchained, try to spot all the "Tarantino Regulars" and see how their roles mirror each other. You'll notice that the director uses certain faces to anchor the chaos, and James Remar is arguably the most subtle example of that in the entire film. Pay close attention to the way Butch reacts when Schultz finally loses his cool with Candie—it’s the look of a man who has been waiting for an excuse to shoot.