The movies that changed Brad Pitt’s life
There are only a handful of actors who have been able to reach the commercial heights that Brad Pitt has. Coming up in the early 1990s, Pitt’s approach to cinema has earned him some of the most acclaimed movies in Hollywood, from Fight Club to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as of late. Regardless of what his latest film project is, though, Pitt has never forgotten where he came from.
Before he had his name up in lights, Pitt was known for taking on various uncredited roles in Hollywood. Having taken lessons from acting coach Roy London, Pitt worked in the background of the Robert Downey Jr film Less Than Zero and the Kevin Costner film No Way Out. When talking about the movie that changed everything for him, Pitt is still indebted to the film that gave him his first big break.
After taking on bit parts in underground films, Pitt’s first significant breakthrough was working in Thelma and Louise. Telling the story of two best friends trying to escape their problems, Ridley Scott cast Pitt as the cowboy JD, taking over for potential frontrunner Billy Baldwin.
When discussing what brought him to prominence, Pitt was thankful for Scott taking a chance on him, saying (via YouTube), “Certainly it was Ridley and Geena bringing me into Thelma and Louise. That was my first shot in the big leagues”.
From there, Pitt started getting calls from much bigger directors, working alongside Quentin Tarantino for the first time in True Romance before turning towards action-horror with Neil Jordan in Interview with a Vampire. While each of the directors was highly skilled at their craft, it wasn’t until working with David Fincher that Pitt realised that he had worked with a true auteur.
Having a clinical approach to production, Fincher was known to not rest until he had the perfect take for whatever shot he was doing. After years of directing music videos for Madonna and Aerosmith, Fincher’s first steps into feature films with Seven was unlike anything that Pitt had ever done before.
When discussing his work on Fincher films, Pitt recalled having the most artistically satisfying experience he could have asked for, recalling, “Meeting David Fincher, that was what I was always hoping it would be. That set me off in a really good direction, and from there, I’ve just been groping my way through it”.
Playing the hotheaded Detective Mills opposite Morgan Freeman’s Detective Somerset, Pitt helped tell the story of one of the most heinous criminal cases ever encountered, with a man dedicated to carrying out one murder at a time based on the seven deadly sins. The extravagant approach to filmmaking led to Pitt working with Fincher later, playing the rebellious Tyler Durden in the cinematic recreation of the book Fight Club.
From there, Pitt has never looked back, taking on any challenging role he can as one of the cinematic giants of Hollywood. Then again, whether he was starring in one of the instalments of the Ocean films or more lighthearted roles in Bullet Train, Pitt is still carrying those same lessons he learned when he first started his acting journey.
