The ‘Thelma and Louise’ scene that Brad Pitt was “embarrassed” by
You wouldn’t think that the American acting superstar Brad Pitt, who has been voted as ‘the sexiest man alive’ on several occasions, would have much to be embarrassed about. Still, even the Hollywood icon, who has had the fortune of appearing alongside the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, George Clooney, Matt Damon and Christopher Walken, can be the victim of embarrassment from time to time.
A critical and commercial Hollywood darling, Pitt is considered to be one of the most iconic movie stars of all time, avoiding blockbuster fodder to work with some of the greatest filmmakers in history. Working with the likes of Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Terrence Malick, Spike Jonze, David Fincher, Martin Scorsese, Terry Gilliam and Adam McKay, Pitt has one of the most impressive filmographies in all of modern cinema.
Enjoying early success in the late 1980s in a number of independent film roles, true success wouldn’t come for Pitt until he was introduced to the world stage in the Ridley Scott movie Thelma & Louise. Despite the direction of Scott and the stellar lead performances of Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in the 1991 movie, Pitt took many of the headlines for the Oscar-winning movie, thanks to his stunning appearance as the heartthrob J.D.
Playing a young drifter who gets caught up in the lives of the titular fugitives, Pitt impressed in the casting process, with Geena Davis herself recommending to Scott that he appeared in the movie after a successful screen test. Perhaps Davis had the forthcoming love scene in mind when she pushed for Pitt, with both actors getting steamy together in one particular moment in the movie.
Detailing her experience with Pitt in her memoir Dying of Politeness, Davis explained how the actor felt embarrassed by a small pimple on his bottom, insisting that it was covered up throughout filming. “Brad, for his part, couldn’t have cared less about all the fuss over his looks,” Davis admitted, before adding: “He was just embarrassed about a tiny little pimple on his butt that the makeup gal recovered after each take”.
Beating out the likes of George Clooney, Mark Ruffalo, Dylan McDermott and Robert Downey Jr. to get the part, Pitt’s appearance in Thelma & Louise would set him up for a glittering Hollywood career. The film itself would also prove to be enormously beneficial to the careers of Ridley Scott, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, giving them each a significant leg-up in the industry.
Where often a male lead would grab the steering wheel of a road movie, here Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise takes inspiration from Steven Spielberg’s Sugarland Express, reimagining the typical male-buddy film with female protagonists. Written and creatively masterminded by screenwriter Callie Khouri, who would win an Oscar for her debut piece of work, the film is a Western-inspired, venomously-spiked escape to Mexico, avoiding Texas at all costs.
Following a largely unspoken incident in Louise’s past, the refusal to go through Texas remains the pair’s only real rule as they break for the border following a violent incident, armed only with a handgun and a newfound lust for life.
