William Bradley Pitt better known as Brad Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma but was raised in Springfield, Missouri. He majored in journalism at University of Missouri, but left college two credits shy of graduating to move to California. Pitt’s earliest acting roles were on television where he starred on the NBC daytime drama Another World and played the recurring role of Randy on the legendary CBS prime time soap opera Dallas. Pitt had a string of guest appearances on television shows throughout the 80s but his small role in the 1991 adventure/drama flick Thelma & Louise as the sexy drifter, who seduced and conned Geena Davis’ character made Hollywood stand up and take notice and ladies across the world swoon at the sight of this studly actor. His casting in the 1992 drama A River Runs Through It gave his career a big boost and since then his roles have varied from unusual, to intense to comedic. In honor of his 50th birthday, here is a Top 10 list of Brad Pitt movies.
10. Cool World: This 1992 live-action/animated fantasy was one of Pitt’s first movies. Starring opposite Gabriel Byrne and Kim Basinger, Pitt played Detective Frank Harris, a cop in the “Cool World” an animated fantasy world created by comic book cartoonist Jack Deebs (Byrne.) Though widely panned and probably a movie Pitt wants stricken from his resume, IMO, Cool World showcased Pitt’s suave persona and also his adeptness at acting opposite nothing since animation was nowhere near what it is today.
9. Mr. & Mrs. Smith: This 2005 action/comedy/romance had Pitt starring opposite his future real-life girlfriend Angelina Jolie. Pitt played John Smith, a skilled assassin leading a double life married to Jane Smith (Jolie.) But, Jane is also an adept killer and each has no idea of the other’s true identity. Once they learn about each other, they are tasked with taking each other out but find they actually love each other and can’t do it so they team up instead. Filled with pulse-pounding action mixed with well-placed wit, Pitt and Jolie made a wonderful comedic/action pairing.
8. Meet Joe Black: This 1998 fantasy drama had Pitt starring again with Sir Anthony Hopkins along with Claire Forlani, Marcia Gay Harden and Jeffrey Tambor. Pitt played Death, who inhabits a man’s body to take a vacation of sorts. Posing as Joe Black, Death tells billionaire William Parrish (Hopkins) that he’s there for him but wants to spend some time on Earth first. Black/Death finds he’s enjoying his time on Earth and falls for Parrish’s daughter, Susan (Forlani,) which complicates things further. Though it didn’t do well in the US, the movie was hugely popular overseas and showed that Pitt could play a reserved man seeing things for the first time with impeccable accuracy.
7. Legends of the Fall: Pitt starred with Sir Anthony Hopkins for the first time in this 1994 romantic war drama based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison. The film is about three brothers and their father living in the remote wilderness of early 1900s and how their lives were affected by nature, history, war, and love. It also starred Aidan Quinn, Henry Thomas and Julia Ormond. Pitt played Tristan Ludlow, one of the three brothers whose life was filled with regret and sorrow. In this film, Pitt showed his dramatic chops as he longed for Ormond’s character, Susannah but felt responsible for his brother, Samuel’s (Thomas’) death, who was also Susannah’s fiancé. In addition, his scenes with Hopkins were captivating as they played a father and son with opposing views on life.
6. Fight Club: This 1999 drama was based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. Pitt co-starred with Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf and Zach Grenier. Pitt played Tyler Durden, who joins Norton’s unnamed character’s Fight Club. Pitt’s ripped body along with its numerous bloody fight scenes, twists and turns, has made this film a much loved one among Pitt fans and for good reason because it conveyed his prowess at both physicality and dramatic acting.
5. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles: This 1994 romantic horror flick was based on the 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. Pitt co-starred with Tom Cruise, a young Kirsten Dunst, Christian Slater and Antonio Banderas. Pitt played the tortured vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac, made an undead by the ruthless Lestat de Lioncourt (Cruise.) The breathtaking yet somber scenery added to the movie’s dark plot. Pitt portrayed the tormented bloodsucker with such intensity and poise, that the character really jumped off the screen.
4. Thelma & Louise: This 1991 adventure dramedy started it all! This was Hollywood and female moviegoers first glimpse of the future sex symbol. Starring opposite Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon, Michael Madsen and Harvey Keitel, Pitt played J.D., a drifter who seduces then robs Geena Davis’ character. Though the role was small, Pitt emoted such charisma and charm, not to mention that body, that females all over the world were asking, “Who is that?” and Hollywood did the same, for different reasons, of course.
3. Se7en: This 1995 thriller had Pitt co-starring with Hollywood heavyweight Morgan Freeman. Pitt played Detective Mills, who along with Freeman’s character, soon-to-be retiring Detective Somerset, investigate a series of murders relating to the seven deadly sins. Co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey, Pitt played a cop thoroughly invested in catching the killer, bringing emotion and ultimately pain to the role with the startling climax.
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: This 2008 romantic fantasy was loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Pitt starred as the title character, as a man who ages in reverse. It also starred Cate Blanchett as Daisy, Button’s love interest throughout the movie as well as Julia Ormond, Taraji P. Henson and Jared Harris. It was nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award and Pitt was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Pitt emoted his character’s emotional ups and downs as he went from old to young with stunning precision and it made moviegoers fall in love with this offbeat, gentle yet doomed character.
1. Ocean's Eleven: This 2001 crime comedy was a remake of the Rat Pack film of the same name. Pitt co-starred with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Scott Caan, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, the late Bernie Mac, Elliott Gould, Carl Reiner, Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts. Pitt played Rusty Ryan, a con man recruited by just released fellow con man Danny Ocean (Clooney) to join him and a group of nine others in robbing the Bellagio, The Mirage, and the MGM Grand casinos in Las Vegas. Pitt’s well-placed dry humor and straight face as he delivered one funny line after the next was hilarious. Pitt helped make a cohesive group out of 11 rip-off artists fun and made the movie rival the original.