Brad Pitt is an American actor, producer, and Hollywood sex symbol. His filmography includes more than 50 films, and his fortune is about $ 250 million. Read the biography of Brad Pitt in our article!
An ordinary American boy did not even dream of becoming a famous actor as a child, but fate decided otherwise and today the whole world knows who Brad Pitt is.
Childhood and youth
William Bradley Pitt was born December 18, 1963, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Pitt’s father was a trucking company manager and his mother was a school teacher. After Brad’s birth, the family moved to Springfield, Missouri. There, Bradley’s younger brother, Doug, was born, and a few years later, sister Julia. Pitt’s family was very religious, they were members of the Baptist church. Every weekend, the Pitts went to church services and did not miss prayers. Bradley, along with his brother and sister, performed in the church choir.
During his school years, Bradley Pitt was an active young man. He took part in school self-government, went to the debate club, went in for sports and music.
After leaving school, Pitt entered the University of Missouri, where he studied journalism and advertising. But soon the young man realized that it was not his. Bradley was attracted by the work of the actor and life away from parental supervision. Having collected things, the future actor headed to Hollywood.
Actor career
Upon arrival in Hollywood, William Bradley Pitt changed his name and became Brad Pitt. He always did not like the first name, and the new pseudonym was also perfectly remembered. The stars did not fall from the sky when Pitt arrived in Los Angeles, and in order to somehow break into the world of cinema, he had to work hard.
The future screen star was both a driver and a loader. Then Brad was offered a job at the El Pollo Loco restaurant chain – to be a barker and invite passers-by to the establishment. Who would have thought that a guy dressed as a giant chicken with flyers in his hands would become the most popular actor in Hollywood?
A great desire to be an actor did not leave Pitt – he spent all his earned money on acting classes. And they were not in vain, soon Brad got a role in the popular TV series Dallas.
After that, Brad Pitt starred in several more TV shows, including Tales from the Crypt, Class President, Underworld, and 21 Jump Street. The latter, by the way, became a landmark for another Hollywood actor Johnny Depp.
In 1988, the young actor played the first leading role in his life in the film The Dark Side of the Sun. It was a joint project between the US and Yugoslavia. The film was predicted success, and Pitt’s popularity, but a civil war broke out in Yugoslavia and half of the footage was considered lost. Only 10 years later, the film was nevertheless restored and given for rent.
The next film “Cutting Out the Class” brought Brad Pitt his first serious fee – $ 12 thousand. Pitt played the role of the school’s star, basketball player Dwight Ingalls. Spectators and critics noted that the actor played more believable than all his colleagues.
Next, Pitt will play several diverse roles in feature films. In the film “Die Young”, the audience saw Brad as a pimp and a drug addict, in “Thelma and Louise” – a petty thief, and in “Johnny Suede” – a musician.
In 1992, the actor starred in the experimental film Parallel World. The film was half drawn. In it, Brad Pitt played Detective Harris, and Kim Basinger became her partner in the film.
The profession of an actor requires many skills, so to work on the film “Where the River Flows” Brad learned to fish. The director did not want to injure the fish during filming and demanded the utmost care from the actors.
The hearts of all viewers were won by the film “Interview with the Vampire”, where Pitt played an aristocrat who unwittingly became a vampire. On the set, the young actor met Tom Cruise and Antonio Banderas.
The next successful work in the career of an actor was the thriller “Seven”. Everyone appreciated the brilliant duet of Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. The production team did a great job of making the scenes of killing the victims look realistic, and as for their achievements of Brad (in addition to excellent acting), the word “fuck” sounded on his lips 74 times.
In 1995, Empire magazine named Brad Pitt one of the top 25 sexiest stars in film history. And People magazine named him “the sexiest man alive” twice! At the moment, Brad is the only one who received this title twice.
In the same year, the actor received his first Oscar nomination for his role in 12 Monkeys. Brad Pitt played Jeffrey, an animal rights activist and the son of a renowned virologist. His character suffers from neurological disorders, and in order to better convey his character and behavior, Brad Pitt quit smoking – because of this, his speech seemed nervous and sometimes unintelligible.
After 2 years, the film “Seven Years in Tibet” appeared on the screens. The plot of the picture is very dramatic, it tells about the Second World War and the Chinese invasion of Tibet. Pitt played the title role in the film, which is why he and his co-stars Jean-Jacques Annaud and David Thewlis are banned from entering China.
In the mystical drama Meet Joe Black, the actor played Death herself, who came to earth in human form.
In 1999, Brad Pitt starred in one of his most significant works – the psychological thriller Fight Club. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. At first, the audience appreciated the film without much enthusiasm, it did not even pay off at the box office, but after a while, it was called one of the most iconic films in the history of cinema.
After filming in Fight Club, Pitt became a real star and every director wanted to get him in his film. Guy Ritchie offered Brad a role in the movie Snatch. And it became one of the highest-grossing films at the box office.
Then there were works in the films “Jacks”, “Mexican”, “Spy Games”. Another success was Ocean’s Eleven, where Pitt also got one of the main roles, along with George Clooney and Matt Damon.
In 2000, Brad Pitt returned to the series, but already as a guest star in the TV series Friends.
A new stage in Pitt’s career was the film “Troy”. At the box office, this film directed by Wolfgang Petersen collected as much as $500 million. For the role of Achilles, Breed Pitt worked out for hours in the gym, built up his muscles, and even learned how to skillfully wield a sword.
The actor received the biggest fee for his role in the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Make-up artists worked for hours to transform Pitt into an 80-year-old man. The film brought the actor another Oscar nomination.
Brad Pitt has repeatedly appeared in commercials. One of the most famous is an advertisement for Heineken beer.
Plan B Entertainment
Brad Pitt is known not only as a good actor but also as a successful producer. In 2002, Brad Pitt became the founder of the production company Plan B Entertainment. Co-founded by Jennifer Aniston and Brad Gray. The company produced Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp in 2005, followed by Strong Heart, The Time Traveler’s Wife, and Kick-Ass.
In 2006, Plan B Entertainment produced the Oscar-winning film The Departed, directed by Martin Scorsese. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.
Brad Pitt received his long-awaited Oscar in 2014, also as a producer, for the film 12 Years a Slave. The picture became a laureate in the nomination “Best Film of the Year”. Brad Pitt was not only the producer of the picture but also played one of the secondary roles.
In December 2018, another Pitt production project, the film Power, was released in the US. Even before the official premiere, the film was predicted to an Oscar, especially since the film had already been presented with several nominations for the Golden Globe.
Personal life
With thousands of fans, Brad Pitt had few novels. The first courtship of the actor for the girl was in high school – Bradley was in love with his classmate, but she did not reciprocate. To attract attention, the young man wrote her name in the snow … in yellow letters. The girl was not happy with this recognition and called Brad a stupid bore. She would have known that soon this “stupid bore” would become a movie star.
Brad’s first serious relationship began with actress Juliet Lewis on the set of the movie Die Young. After just nothing, the couple began to live together. But the relationship collapsed under the weight of Pitt’s popularity. Juliet, unlike her lover, was not invited to the shooting, and she constantly rolled scenes of jealousy toward Brad. When the couple broke up, Juliet even tried to commit suicide.
The actor also met his second chosen one on the set. Gwyneth Paltrow won the heart of young Pitt at first sight. In December 1996, the couple announced their engagement and the media were already preparing for the upcoming celebration with might and main. But soon Brad and Gwyneth announced their breakup. Later it became known that the reason for the breakup was Paltrow’s mother’s dislike for Pitt. She considered him a redneck, unworthy of her daughter. All Gwyneth’s attempts to change Pitt, he considered offensive and broke off relations
The first legal wife of Brad Pitt was actress Jennifer Aniston. The lovers were brought together by a common project – “Friends”. Relations were very harmonious. Brad considered Jennifer the woman of his life, he even spoke about this repeatedly in his interviews. She, in turn, did not demand major changes from Pitt and accepted all his advantages and disadvantages.
Relations with Aniston had a beneficial effect on the career and image of the actor. He starred in box-office films, began to independently change his habits, and strived to look better. The couple bought a house in Beverly Hills and dreamed of having a baby.
In 2005, the ideal relationship collapsed. At first, journalists said that it was Jennifer who initiated the divorce. But later it turned out that Brad left her for another. She was the actress Angelina Jolie.
Sympathy between the actors appeared on the set of the film “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” in 2004. But Pitt was married, and the couple tried not to appear together in public. A year later, the paparazzi caught Brad and Angelina in Africa – they were walking along the beach with their adopted son Jolie Maddock.
After a divorce from Jennifer Aniston, Brad and Angelina stopped hiding their communication. And in 2006, the couple made a statement – they are expecting a baby. Already in May, their daughter Shiloh was born. The media fought for a long time for a photo of the baby, but the parents hid their daughter from the public in every possible way. As a result, Brad and Angelina sold a photo of their daughter for $10 million. After 2 years, the couple had twins – a boy Knox and a girl Vivienne. The couple gave their photos to one well-known glossy publication for $14 million. The money received was transferred to charity.
In total, Brad and Angelina have 6 children: three adopted and three biological. All children are named Jolie-Pitt. Shiloh’s daughter differs from her sisters in that she considers herself a boy – she wears a short haircut, dresses like a boy, and even calls herself John. But the parents support the girl and do not forbid her to express herself the way she feels. They don’t even mind Shiloh changing gender.
In 2014, Brangelina (as the couple was called in Hollywood) decided to legalize their relationship and get married. A modest celebration took place at the French residence of the Miraval couple. The dress and veil of the bride were decorated with drawings of their children. Wedding photos were also sold to the media, with the proceeds going to a charitable foundation.
In September 2016, Brangelina fans learned the sad news that the couple was filing for divorce. There were a lot of alleged reasons for the divorce – disagreements in raising children, Jolie’s depression and her constant nervous breakdowns, Pitt’s alcoholism, and even the fact that he cheated on his wife with Frenchwoman Marion Cotillard. Pitt later confirmed that he sometimes abused alcohol, but the main reason for the gap in children.
Jolie demanded full custody of the children from Pitt, but the actor does not agree with this decision. The couple had too many disagreements, but they nevertheless agreed on one thing – the ex-spouses decided not to disclose the details of the divorce process to the press in order to protect the children from scandals. How the relationship of the couple will develop further is still unknown.
Filmography of Brad Pitt
- 1987 – No way out
- 1987 – Neutral strip
- 1987 – Less than zero
- 1987 – Problems of growth
- 1987 – Dallas
- 1987 – Another world
- 1988 – 21 Jump Street
- 1988 – The Dark Side of the Sun
- 1989 – Happy together
- 1989 – Skipping classes
- 1989 – Class President
- 1989 – Freddy’s Nightmares
- 1990 – Painting
- 1990 – Too young to die?
- 1990 – Glory Days
- 1991 – Racing in a circle
- 1991 – Johnny Suede
- 1991 – Thelma and Louise
- 1992 – Contact
- 1990 – Tales from the Crypt
- 1992 – Parallel world
- 1992 – Where the river flows
- 1993 – California
- 1993 – True love
- 1994 – Service
- 1994 – Interview with a Vampire: A Chronicle of the Life of a Vampire
- 1994 – Legends of autumn
- 1995 – Seven
- 1995 – 12 monkeys
- 1996 – Sleepers
- 1997 – The Devil’s Property
- 1997 – Seven years in Tibet
- 1998 Meet Joe Black
- 1999 – Fight Club
- 2000 – Big jackpot
- 2000 – Freaks
- 2001 – Mexican
- 2001 – Spy Games
- 2001 – Ocean’s Eleven
- 2001 – Friends
- 2002 – Confessions of a Dangerous Man
- 2003 – Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
- 2003 – King of the Hill
- 2004 – Troy
- 2004 – Ocean’s Twelve Rusty Ryan
- 2005 – Mr. and Mrs. Smith
- 2006 – Babylon
- 2007 – Ocean’s Thirteen
- 2007 – How the cowardly Robert Ford killed Jesse James
- 2008 – Burn after reading
- 2008 – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- 2009 – Inglourious Basterds
- 2010 – Megabrain
- 2011 – Tree of Life
- 2011 – The Man Who Changed Everything
- 2011 – Do your feet 2
- 2011 – Seal of Evil
- 2012 – Casino robbery
- 2013 – World War Z
- 2013 – 12 years a slave
- 2013 — Advisor
- 2014 – Rage
- 2015 – Cote d’Azur
- 2015 – Samples
- 2015 – Playing for a fall
- 2016 – Time Travel
- 2016 – Allies
- 2017 – Machine of War
- 2018 – Deadpool 2
- 2019 – To the stars
- 2019 – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood