Carradine said he's also happy that Tarantino and Miramax Films chief Harvey Weinstein decided to release "Kill Bill" in two installments, rather than as one big film, as had originally been planned. "I don't think it would have worked as a three-hour film. You would have had to cut out all the little superfluous character scenes, and those are the things that really make a Quentin Tarantino movie."

Still, at least one scene did wind up on the cutting room floor — a poker game that turns into samurai-sword fight involving Carradine, Michael Jai White and several henchmen. "There's a reason to look forward to the DVD," Carradine said with a sigh.

For an actor approaching 70, Carradine is in tremendous shape. Some of that is attributable to his dietary practices and Tai Chi regimen, though, like the rest of Tarantino's cast, Carradine also went through months of martial-arts and swordfighting workouts and instruction to prepare for these films. "That's yet another of the perks from continuing to work in this industry. They pay you to workout, stay in shape and be healthy," he said with a laugh.

Carradine has appeared in nearly 150 film and television projects over the course of his career. But he said that's only about half of what his father managed to accomplish, the revered character actor John Carradine. "That was an amazing feat, all that he did in his career. I'm not sure anyone will ever equal it.

"I'd like to think that my father passed on that great work ethic to me. But I also have to give some credit to my mother, who raised all of us boys while my father was away making all those movies."

---

E-mail: jeff@desnews.com