Let’s have a look at the top ten most iconic and unexpected Brad Pitt films of the last twenty years.
When rumours of a film collab between Brad Pitt and Harry Styles got out, Twitter went into a frenzy of speculation. Although both men have denied being attached to the project ‘Faster, Cheaper, Better’, the pure excitement for a new Brad Pitt role shows just how strong his star-power still is.
Burn After Reading
This is a very quirky part in an off-beat film. Pitt plays the inept fitness instructor Chad, who attempts to blackmail a former CIA analyst. The gif of Brad dancing in a tight lycra top has been making the rounds of the internet for years.
Lycra aside, this gif gives you an idea of this role and Pitt’s take on it: playful, eccentric and unlike anything we’d seen him in previously. After this role, fans were left craving more of Brad Pitt’s dancing. Maybe one day…
Deadpool 2
Brad Pitt’s Cameo in Deadpool 2 was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. Pitt stars as the ‘Vanisher’, an invisible man in Deadpool’s rag-tag team of heroes – ‘X-force’.
It’s not unusual for Brad to use his sex-appeal in films, but Interview With the Vampire took this to another level. No, you didn’t imagine it, the homoerotic undertones in this film are strong, especially an incredibly charged scene with Antonio Banderas.
In the early 1990s it was unexpected for a rising star to choose projects that challenged heteronormative romantic leads. Pitt has always supported LGBT rights and it shows his acting projects.
Snatch
This was a true character role for Pitt. The role of boxing ‘Pikey’ Mikey O’Neil in Guy Ritchie’s fast-paced East-End thriller saw Pitt sport a thick Irish accent that almost no-one could understand. Hilarity ensued and it remains as one of Pitt’s most interesting performances.
Friends
Brad Pitt’s episode of Friends lives on as one of the most unexpected and well written episodes of the show. Pitt was dating Jennifer Aniston at the time and his character in the show was written to completely detest hers. Cue some angry yam plating and you have an instant fan-favourite.
The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Yes, the title goes on for ages. This role was a bold move for Pitt, as the film is a Western, which was not a very popular genre at the time (2007). However, Andrew Dominik’s vision was to film an intimate look at the men behind the guns – something altogether new within this genre.
Fight Club
Name one thing about this film that isn’t unexpected. I won’t spoil the ending for you because we all know the first rule of Fight Club.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
This age-bending film from long time collaborator David Fincher sees Pitt start out as an elderly man who ages backward, getting younger every day.
This film was the first of its kind and, although some of the CGI hasn’t held up as well as we might have liked, it is still considered a wildly impressive film.
Brad Pitt as a Producer
Perhaps Pitt’s most unexpected role is as a producer of film and TV. He set up the production company Plan B Entertainment with then-wife Jennifer Aniston and kept it after the pair divorced in 2005. Plan B Entertainment even got an Oscar for producing, when 12 Years a Slave won Best Picture at the 2014 Oscars.
Pitt’s Next Big Role
Pitt’s acting career seems to have slowed down in recent years. He recently returned to our screens with Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and Ad Astra. The diverse nature of these projects proves just how much of an acting wildcard Pitt is.
Whatever roles he takes going forwards, we know they will be unexpected, and we know we are going to be in the best seats in the cinema to watch them (meaning our couches, since who knows when it will be safe to go to the movies again?).
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