The insane preparation Brad Pitt undertook for ’12 Monkeys’
Throughout the years, Brad Pitt has given a series of mesmerising on-screen performances that have proven his deep commitment to his profession. From Fight Club to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pitt has consistently delivered acting efforts that have long served in the memory of cinema fans across the world.
Another remarkable performance came in Terry Gilliam’s 1995 science fiction thriller 12 Monkeys. The film tells of a post-apocalyptic future ravaged by disease where a convict is sent back in time to learn about the origins of the man-made virus that would eventually wipe out most of humanity.
Upon arriving back in Baltimore in 1990, Bruce Willis’ character is immediately arrested and locked inside a mental hospital after being diagnosed with insanity. It’s there that he meets Brad Pitt’s inmate, Jeffrey Goines, with Pitt displaying all the nervous attitude expected of his character.
At the Lumiere Film Festival, Gilliam gave a masterclass on his approach to directing when presenting a restored version of 12 Monkeys. He pointed out the great lengths that Pitt went to in order to accurately portray his anarchistic, environmentalist mental patient.
“Brad worked incredibly hard to prepare for the role – he went to psychiatric wards, visited mental hospitals… and the first day of the shoot, he exploded on the set!” Gilliam noted. “It was breathtaking how funny he was, how strange, how psychotic, it was incredible! So, in the end, Bruce did one of the best performances of his life, and so did Brad.”
In the 1990s, Pitt was known for giving remarkable and transformative performances that showcased his dedication to his acting craft. His Fight Club effort was one that practically defined the era, but according to Gilliam, it’s his 12 Monkeys performance that ought to get the credit.
Interestingly, though, Pitt himself had mixed feelings about his effort in the film, admitting that he was only happy with half of it. “I nailed the first half of 12 Monkeys,” he once told The New York Times. “I got the second half all wrong.”
He added, “That performance bothered me because there was a trap in the writing. It’s not the writing’s fault, but it was something that I couldn’t figure out. I knew in the second half of the film I was playing the gimmick of what was real in the first half—until the last scene—and it bugged the [expletive] out of me.”
Check out Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys below.
