Brad Pitt’s “worst performing” movie gave him his favourite role
Brad Pitt rose to fame and fortune from the unlikely setting of a modest and devoutly religious household in Springfield, Missouri. It’s not the kind of area from which global mega-stars usually emanate, but Pitt had something special. It wouldn’t take long for him to grow out of his humble beginnings, take some part in Hollywood roles, and sow the seeds of his upcoming domination of cinema. But while he was soon traversing the globe in private jets, Pitt was still a homeboy at heart.
The region was distinctly picturesque with “a lot of hills, a lot of lakes,” which Pitt described as “Mark Twain country, Jesse James country.” Like most children of the 1960s, Pitt grew up transfixed by the small screen in his front room and found escapism in the rife western movies of the time. It would act as part of his lifelong obsession with cinema, creating a groundwork from which some of the most expansive cinematic moments of all time would grow.
Approaching his graduation from the University of Missouri, where he studied journalism with a focus on advertising, Pitt felt unsettled and sensed something bigger waiting for him on the horizon, more specifically in Los Angeles. Pitt was a film fanatic and regarded them as “a portal into different worlds,” but it wasn’t until the closing weeks of his tenure at college that he decided to drop his books and set off for California.
Through the mid-1980s, Pitt struggled through odd jobs and failed auditions until he decided to take lessons from the revered acting coach Roy London. It wasn’t long before the aspiring actor gained traction, appearing in small movie roles and securing a four-episode run in the CBS primetime series Dallas.
Through the 1990s, Pitt grew from strength to strength, beginning with a small breakthrough appearance in Ridley Scott’s 1991 classic Thelma & Louise and ending the decade with Legends of the Fall, Se7ven, Seven Years in Tibet, Meet Joe Black and Fight Club under his widening belt.
Since the millennium, Pitt has appeared in countless Hollywood blockbusters and has received a host of accolades as an actor and producer. In 2001, he formed his production company, Plan B Entertainment, and realised a greater passion for working off-screen. With hints that his time up on the silver screen was limited, the legendary actor could be about to sit in the chair usually reserved for studio executives.
“I’d rather be behind the camera,” Pitt told director Guy Ritchie during a 2012 conversation for Interview magazine. “As a producer, obviously, you’re part of a team that brings the story to the screen. It wouldn’t be there if you didn’t champion it or if you and a group of people weren’t championing it. I like that.”
Despite his remarkable track record as an actor, Pitt earned his first Academy Award for his production masterclass in 2013’s 12 Years A Slave. Picking up his first acting Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ in 2020 for his remarkable turn as Cliff Booth in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
In a 2017 interview with GQ, Pitt reflected on his three decades of success and picked out his favourite movie. “I can turn out the hits over and over, and I just, my favourite movie is the worst-performing film of anything I’ve done, The Assassination of Jesse James,” he told GQ. “If I believe something is worthy, then I know it will be worthy in time to come.”
The 2007 film, which Pitt starred in and produced, befitted the actor’s love for the Wild West, and while it only scraped $4million at the box office, it was one of Pitt’s proudest moments. It goes to show that success doesn’t necessarily equal happiness. A mix of being able to hold more creative control, paying homage to his past and languishing in the stunning beauty of a western provided Pitt with the happiest moment of his on-screen career despite operating as perhaps his biggest box office bomb.
