Brad Pitt
After our recent feature on Charlize Theron, some readers asked us to write about her male counterparts in Hollywood—and the first screen hunk who came to mind was—Brad Pitt.
Like Charlize, Brad is singularly good-looking and is “adored” by the movie camera. But, after taking advantage
of his good looks for some years, he similarly went beyond physical plus points, and worked hard to track down challenging roles that “proved” his thespic prowess, sometimes to the point of playing “against” physical type and portraying internally and even externally “ugly” characters.
Pitt’s filmography says it all: After years of playing mostly supporting roles on TV and film screens, he was finally noticed in the 1991 “road” film, “Thelma & Louise,” topbilling Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon. He played a small-time criminal who befriended Geena’s character, and their bed scene together was hot enough to launch him as a sex symbol.
Riding on his newfound “stellar” surge, Pitt followed up with “A River Runs Through It” by Robert Redford, where his lead portrayal was described by some reviewers as “career-making.”
The one-two punch enabled the young comer to clinch the ShoWest award for Male Star of Tomorrow. In the mid-’90s, he began his earnest search for roles that would challenge and showcase his developing thespic skill and verve, going “darker and deeper” to plumb the sometimes contradictory interstices of the human condition.
He led off with his portrayal of the vampire, Louis de Pointe du Lac, in “Interview with the Vampire.” Next came “Legends of the Fall,” where his performance ended up being nominated for awards.
It also boosted his popularity as a screen performer, as knowing observers appreciatively noted his ability to “play the ‘possibilities’ of his role to heartthrob perfection.”
Pitt’s next starrer, “Seven,” cast him in an even more intentionally offbeat role, in keeping with his expressed intent to “move from the pretty-boy type and play someone with flaws.”
His subsequent appearance in “12 Monkeys” was cited in reviews as a “startlingly frenzied” performance. He won a best supporting actor award for that portrayal at the Golden Globes.
In “Meet Joe Black” and “Fight Club,” Pitt showed other facets to his evolving thespic persona, but he stumbled badly in “The Mexican,” where he and costar Julia Roberts couldn’t get a grip on their fuzzy characters.
In 2008, Pitt came up with one of his most unusual portrayals, as the title character in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Talk about going beyond physical considerations and limitations, Pitt portrayed a man who is “born an octogenarian and ages in reverse.”
He did so well in the stunningly challenging role that a reviewer even breathlessly opined that his performance helped make the film “a timeless masterpiece.”
Other offbeat roles followed in “Inglourious Basterds,” “Killing Them Softly” and “The Big Short.” Most recently, Pitt went back to “handsome screen hero” mode in “Allied.”
After proving many times that his stellar cred went beyond good looks, he finally felt no compunction about showcasing his “killer” charisma once again, coming full circle to great thespic effect!