Brad Pitt on the movie that represented the “pinnacle of my loss of direction”
Upon the release of Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise, many viewers were captivated by the character of J.D., a mysterious drifter who charms Thelma before robbing the pair of their money. Often sporting nothing more than jeans and a cowboy hat, the performance introduced Brad Pitt to the mainstream, and it didn’t take long for him to secure some larger roles.
Soon, Pitt had landed parts in movies like A River Runs Through It, True Romance and Interview with a Vampire, quickly demonstrating an ability to master a range of roles which didn’t box him into one genre.
By the mid-90s, Pitt’s presence in Hollywood was unavoidable. Carrying a reputation for being one of the industry’s sexiest stars while also possessing the raw acting talent to prove himself as more than a piece of eye candy, Pitt dominated cinema screens during the decade.
He starred in David Fincher’s Seven in 1995, a role that shot him to further acclaim. “What’s in the box?!” his character shouts during an unforgettable scene – one which has gone down in history as one of modern cinema’s most quotable moments.
Yet, as Pitt became even more famous and in demand, he began to feel overwhelmed by what to star in next. He could take his career in any way he liked, but one bad move possessed the potential to derail the progress he had made thus far. Luckily, his role in 12 Monkeys by Terry Gilliam was spectacular enough to earn him an Academy Award nomination, but his next project, Sleepers, left Pitt less enthusiastic.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Pitt revealed that during this time, “I really started getting confused and discombobulated. Because [my career] started blowing up, for one. Suddenly, I had a lot of people in my ear telling me what I should do and what I shouldn’t do.” Thus, he found himself starring in The Devil’s Own and Seven Years In Tibet, using the latter, which was filmed in Argentina for a period of six months, as a chance to get away from it all. “I was really a shut-in at this time. I did not know how to deal with [the fame]. Argentina was a great experience, but I was lost. Really lost.”
Unsure of what to do next, he ended up participating in a film that spawned another iconic Pitt quote – Meet Joe Black. The internet has since lapped up the moment in which he delivers the words “Everything gonna be irie” in a questionable Jamaican accent. For Pitt, “That was the pinnacle of my loss of direction and compass.”
Many critics were quick to criticise Pitt’s performance, which, to some, was not up to standard with his previous work. Giving a rather stale and lacklustre performance, the actor had clearly been miscast, and he admits that this was far from his finest work. Thankfully, he next signed on to a project that would ease any anxieties he had about where his career was going: Fight Club.
Reuniting with Fincher, Fight Club was an international hit that was both critically and commercially acclaimed. It remains one of Pitt’s greatest performances, luckily allowing many people to forget about the travesty of his role in Meet Joe Black.
