Why Brad Pitt has no issue turning down iconic roles: “I really do believe in that”
Brad Pitt is one of the few working actors who truly feels like an old Hollywood movie star, starring in globally acclaimed projects directed by modern auteurs like Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher and the Coen brothers. From his underrated comedic skills that are perfectly utilised in Burn After Reading and Inglorious Basterds to the dark satire of Fight Club, the actor has had an unforgettable career with performances that have shaped cinematic history.
Many actors would kill for the opportunity to star in as many cult classics as Pitt, with leading and supporting roles in some of the most beloved films of all time. However, while the actor is inseparable from his work in films like Se7en, Oceans Eleven and Thelma and Louise, he has also shared the other projects that he nearly took part in, which may have added a whole other layer of notoriety to his screen presence.
In the film industry, it is often the case that many of your friends and peers will be up for the same roles as you, with the competition being high as people battle it out in audition rooms to book a part that everyone else’s agent has put them forward for. Whether it be Emma Stone and her audition to be in Tim Burton’s adaptation of Alice in Wonderland or Jennifer Lawrence’s almost casting as Bella Swan in the infamous Twilight series, rejection can be a tough pill to swallow when you know that your friends are playing characters you desperately wanted to play.
However, while this is an aspect of the business that many don’t enjoy, describing the awkwardness of being pitted against your peers while feigning civility during press conferences and red carpet appearances, Pitt has found his own way of dealing with this, and surprisingly doesn’t feel bad about the many iconic roles he has not only been rejected for but actually turned down.
When discussing this, Pitt shared the one mesmerising role he turned down, saying, “I did pass on The Matrix. I took the red pill. That’s the only one I’m naming. I wasn’t offered two or three. Only the first one. Just to clarify that.”
While many would be baffled by this decision, Pitt clarified his reasons for doing so and added that he doesn’t like discussing projects he didn’t star in, saying, “I come from a place, maybe it’s my upbringing, if I didn’t get it, then it wasn’t mine. I really believe [the role] was never mine. It’s not mine. It was someone else’s and they go and make it. I really do believe in that. If we were doing a show on the great movies I’ve passed on, we would need two nights.”
There are some things that are seemingly controlled by fate and completely out of our hands, and perhaps Pitt’s approach to walking away from successful films is not the travesty that some people might describe it as. We often know when something is meant to be and have a gut instinct about our part in something, and maybe more of us would to well to simply let go and accept when something isn’t right for us.
