Absent friends, ad-libs and awards: how Bruce Dern learned to behave

Part of a unique Hollywood household with three stars on the walk of fame, the much-loved character actor, currently starring in The Artist's Wife, veers characteristically off-script to reflect on his storied 60-year career

Wait a minute, let me tell you about this first," says Bruce Dern, embarking on what I think is his fifth discursive anecdote in six sentences. Did you ever see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood? Do you remember when Brad Pitt comes in and tries to wake me up?" he asks.

You mean when Pitt (playing the fictional stuntman Cliff Booth) visits your character (a fictionalised version of the real-life George Spahn, who owned the ranch where the Manson family set up camp)?