Brad Pitt - A remarkable journey
American film has, for the last 30-40 years, been favored by a golden quartet that has produced one box office success after another. The quartet of Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and particularly Brad Pitt has significantly influenced Hollywood. Film companies have earned billions from their artistry, and they have been able to deposit hundreds of millions of dollars into their bank accounts.
Like most other film stars, the path to success for Brad Pitt involved background roles and more or less reputable TV series. For him, it was a minor role in the iconic TV series Dallas (1978-1991) that truly opened the doors to Hollywood's film studios.
But it was in Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise (1991) that he achieved his real breakthrough. He then established his name with epic films like Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven (2001). His image as a 'leading man' was further cemented with the role of Achilles in the epic blockbuster Troy (2004) and the romantic spy thriller Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005).
The latter was not only a solid box office success but also a film in which Brad Pitt starred opposite Angelina Jolie for the first time. This collaboration would prove to have significant consequences for the then 42-year-old Brad Pitt. Although he had fallen in love with Jennifer Aniston back in 2000 and married her that same year, sparks apparently flew between Pitt and Angelina Jolie when they met during the filming of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. This led to a swift divorce. Nevertheless, both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt claimed that they indeed fell in love during filming, but that there was never any question of infidelity.
The couple was dubbed 'Brangelina' by the tabloid press. They moved in together and created a large family over the coming years with no fewer than six children. Their daughter was born in Namibia in 2006. In addition, they welcomed a pair of twins in 2008 and three adopted children.
Rise and Fall
Brad Pitt grew up in a Christian, conservative family in Missouri and received a strict Baptist upbringing. After high school, he attended the University of Missouri, where he studied journalism with a particular focus on marketing. But it was perhaps also a time when rebellion was stirring within the young Pitt. Just two weeks before his final exams, he packed his bags and moved to Los Angeles. As he said in an interview with Esquire magazine, “film opened a portal for me to other worlds.”
Like so many other great actors, he started his career in Hollywood by studying the difficult art of acting and began from scratch with background roles, never coming close to the credits. It was 1987, the same year he had a small breakthrough with a minor role in the iconic TV series Dallas, which aired for a full 13 years. The following year, he starred in a small American-Yugoslav film titled The Dark Side of the Sun. A film that was shelved when the Balkan wars broke out. In fact, it premiered nine years later, in 1997. By that time, Brad Pitt had truly kicked off his career, especially with Ridley Scott's legendary road movie Thelma & Louise (1991), Legends of the Fall (1994), and Seven Years in Tibet (1997).
In just a few years, he had moved from the realm of obscurity and numerous background roles to being offered leading roles in the major films of the time. It was the top directors like Quentin Tarantino, Wolfgang Petersen, and Ridley Scott who came calling for him. But success also had a darker side. From a young age, he had a fondness for cannabis. And alcohol. He himself has said that he “hid from fame. I smoked way too much dope and just sat on the couch, turning into a doughnut.” In an interview with GQ magazine, he stated: “Honestly! I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.”
Sobriety and Recognition
The looming divorce also had other, more positive consequences for Brad Pitt. For although he claimed he had hardly had a day without joints or alcohol since his youth, he entered treatment in 2016 to break free from his addiction. This included support from colleague Anthony Hopkins, whom he got to know while filming Legends of the Fall (1994) and Meet Joe Black (1998).
Economy and Politics
Brad Pitt's artistic success has naturally made him a wealthy man. Various media reports estimate his personal fortune to be around 400 million dollars. He earns an average of at least 20 million dollars for each film he appears in. In addition, he has various income from advertisements and similar ventures. Here, he follows in the footsteps of his friend George Clooney, who, among other things, advertises for Nespresso coffee capsules: Pitt has a lucrative deal with an Italian company that produces coffee machines.
The marriage to Angelina Jolie was itself a brand. In fact, one of the most well-known in the world. The reputable consulting firm ACNielsen established as early as 2006 that the two were the celebrity couple most sought after by producers around the world as advertising figures for their products.
This benefited the couple when they sold the rights to the first photos of their newborn twins for around 14 million dollars to the magazines Hello! and People in 2008. According to the American business magazine Forbes, this was one of the most expensive family photos in history.
The brand may have received a few scratches when Pitt and Jolie's divorce negotiations became public knowledge. Nevertheless, Brad Pitt has since starred in – or produced – a number of major films. Examples include Ad Astra (2019), Bullet Train (2022), and most recently Wolfs (2024), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August.
To become as famous and loved for his craft as an actor is rare. But it has also given Brad Pitt both the courage and the ability to speak out on matters beyond just films and the struggles of life. In fact, he has been a contributor and supporter of Democratic presidents for many years. This is, of course, a bit of a balancing act in a country that is currently deeply divided. Yet he has been an unwavering supporter of both Barack Obama and President Biden.
This says something about the platform Brad Pitt has managed to build. And it is a testament to a remarkable journey from his Baptist upbringing in the American Midwest. A journey that is not over yet. Next year, the film F1 will premiere. A film about Formula 1 driver Sonny Hayes, with Brad Pitt starring and actively producing.
Hollywood Friends
George Clooney and Brad Pitt. It doesn't get much bigger than this. For more than 30 years, they have thrilled movie audiences around the world. They have brought their roles to life in everything from romantic films to science fiction. And both have made guest appearances in the iconic series Friends. By Claus Vesterager Martinus | Photo: Getty Images & Alamy
The scene is set. With the same precision as if it were a new epic blockbuster being filmed. The location is Venice. And the two friends Brad Pitt and George Clooney arrive at the Palazzo del Cinema for the 81st film festival in the city, where you naturally only arrive in style, if it’s in a beautiful motorboat. Both are impeccably dressed. Clooney in a sharp light gray suit that perfectly complements his gray hair. Pitt in an equally sharp light blue outfit, perhaps with a slightly more youthful expression. But he has just turned 60, after all. His buddy is three years older.
They naturally have a collegial history together. And they are in Venice to promote their latest film, Wolfs (2024). An action-comedy that revolves around two fixers who, independently of each other, are hired to clean up after a high-profile crime. Two men who definitely do not intend to collaborate. But who, forced by circumstances, have to do so anyway. Delivered with sharp dialogue, fights, and other quirks.
In the newspaper Politiken, the reporter writes about their joint press conference, where they discuss their new film. Not least about the joy of performing together again. “Fifteen years ago, I got to shoot Brad Pitt in the face,” George Clooney says, referring to the Coen brothers' film Burn After Reading (2008), in which they both appeared. “It was such a great experience that I thought, let’s try again. And I actually get to hit him again,” Clooney says about working on Wolfs.
Brad Pitt responds: “I actually hit him too during the filming. But they cut it out.” At the press conference, Pitt preferred to talk about his new film – and otherwise about his role as a producer. His production company, Plan B, has a hand in several of the festival's films. But he flatly refused to discuss his private life.
Friends
The film Wolfs is described in Politiken as the classic divorce film, where a man calls his best friend and asks if they should do something fun. And they do.
And they are friends in the real world as well. Perhaps even in the film world. In any case, they have managed to make guest appearances in one of the most iconic TV series, namely Friends, which aired for a decade from 1994. In the first season, Clooney draws on his experiences from the TV series ER and appears as a doctor in a hospital where one of the main characters in Friends is admitted. Naturally, this develops into a double date with Monica and Rachel, played by Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston, respectively.
Brad Pitt appeared in a later episode of the same series. In fact, while he was still married to Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel in all ten seasons.