Brad Pitt’s Best Roles

Brad Pitt is one of those rare actors who managed to transition from a Hollywood heartthrob into one of the most respected and interesting performers of his generation. He first gained widespread attention with roles that highlighted his classic movie-star looks, but he quickly proved that he had serious acting talent to back them up. Over the years, he has carefully cultivated a career filled with diverse and complex roles, avoiding being typecast as a simple leading man.

He has consistently shown a willingness to take risks, often choosing quirky character parts over more conventional heroic ones. This has allowed him to work with some of the most innovative directors in modern cinema and to build a filmography that is both commercially successful and critically acclaimed. Beyond his acting, he has also become a prolific producer, helping to bring many important and award-winning stories to the screen.

‘Troy’ (2004)

In this historical epic, Brad Pitt portrays the legendary Greek warrior Achilles. The film retells the story of the Trojan War, with Achilles presented as the greatest fighter of his time, a nearly invincible soldier driven by a desire for immortal glory. The role required significant physical preparation to embody the celebrated hero of Homer’s Iliad.

Pitt’s character is not just a killing machine but also a complex figure who struggles with his own mortality and the whims of the foolish kings he serves. He is arrogant and defiant yet capable of great passion and grief, making his journey one of the central emotional arcs of the sprawling film.

‘Fury’ (2014)

Brad Pitt plays U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Don Collier, known to his men as Wardaddy. He is the battle-hardened commander of a five-man Sherman tank crew operating behind enemy lines in Germany during the final months of World War II. His character is a pragmatic and tough leader who has seen the worst of war.

The film provides a gritty and claustrophobic look at the realities of tank combat. Wardaddy must guide his veteran crew and a newly assigned rookie through a series of incredibly dangerous missions, all while wrestling with the moral and psychological toll of the conflict.

‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’ (2007)

Pitt takes on the role of the infamous American outlaw Jesse James in his final days. The film is less of a traditional western and more of a meditative character study, examining the effects of fame and paranoia on its legendary subject. He portrays James not as a heroic figure but as a moody and unpredictable celebrity.

The story focuses on the complex relationship between James and Robert Ford, a young gang member who both idolizes and resents his famous leader. Pitt’s character is a man burdened by his own myth, struggling with the pressures of his reputation as he grows increasingly wary of those around him.

‘Babel’ (2006)

In this drama featuring multiple interconnected storylines, Pitt plays Richard Jones, an American tourist on vacation with his wife in Morocco. Their trip takes a tragic turn when his wife is struck by a stray bullet, setting off a chain of events that affects people on multiple continents.

His performance is a grounded and emotional portrayal of a husband in crisis. Stranded in a remote village with his critically injured wife, his character must navigate language barriers and cultural differences as he desperately seeks medical help and confronts the breakdown of his own marriage.

‘Moneyball’ (2011)

Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the real-life general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team. The film is based on the true story of how Beane, faced with a severely limited budget, revolutionized the sport by using a sophisticated statistical analysis method to scout and acquire undervalued players.

His character is a former player who challenges over a century of traditional baseball wisdom. He is a determined and often stubborn innovator who puts his career on the line to prove that his new analytical approach can build a winning team capable of competing with powerhouse franchises.

‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ (2019)

Pitt plays Cliff Booth, the laid-back and unflappable stunt double for a fading television actor in 1969 Los Angeles. Cliff is a loyal friend and skilled professional who is rumored to have a dark past. He spends his days driving his actor friend around and navigating the changing landscape of the film industry.

The character is effortlessly cool and capable, serving as both a sidekick and a quiet observer of the era’s cultural shifts. The role showcases Pitt’s charisma and comedic timing, and the performance earned him widespread critical acclaim, including an Academy Award.

‘Ocean’s Eleven’ (2001)

In this stylish heist comedy, Pitt plays Rusty Ryan, the trusted right-hand man of master thief Danny Ocean. Rusty is a sharp and savvy con artist who helps assemble and manage a team of specialists to pull off a seemingly impossible casino robbery in Las Vegas.

His character is known for his cool demeanor and his habit of constantly eating. He is the detail-oriented strategist of the group, responsible for much of the planning that goes into the elaborate heist while maintaining a relaxed and charming presence.

‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ (2008)

Pitt takes on the title role of Benjamin Button, a man born under unusual circumstances who ages in reverse. The film follows his extraordinary life, beginning as an old man in a New Orleans nursing home at the end of World War I and growing younger as the decades pass.

This unique role required him to portray a single character across nearly an entire lifetime, aided by cutting-edge visual effects. The performance captures the character’s quiet melancholy and wonder as he navigates love and loss while his life runs opposite to everyone else’s.

‘The Big Short’ (2015)

In this film about the 2008 financial crisis, Brad Pitt plays Ben Rickert, a reclusive ex-trader living off the grid. He is reluctantly drawn back into the world of finance to help two young investors profit from the impending collapse of the housing market.

His character serves as a cynical but knowledgeable guide, using his connections to help the newcomers make a massive bet against the U.S. economy. He is portrayed as a man who is deeply disillusioned with the greed and corruption of the banking system he once belonged to.

‘Twelve Monkeys’ (1995)

Pitt delivers a manic and energetic performance as Jeffrey Goines, an eccentric patient in a mental institution. His character is the son of a famous scientist and an outspoken animal rights activist. He encounters the film’s protagonist, a time traveler from a post-apocalyptic future, inside the institution.

The role was a significant departure from his earlier work and demonstrated his range as a character actor. His erratic behavior and radical ideology make him a key figure in the mystery surrounding a deadly virus that wiped out most of humanity.

’12 Years a Slave’ (2013)

In this historical drama, Pitt plays Samuel Bass, a Canadian carpenter working on a Louisiana plantation. His role is a smaller but crucial one, as he is the first white person who is willing to listen to the story of Solomon Northup, a free man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery.

Bass is an abolitionist who finds the institution of slavery to be morally repugnant. He is a compassionate and just man who risks his own safety by agreeing to help Solomon get a letter to his family in the North, offering a glimmer of hope in the film’s narrative.

‘Snatch’ (2000)

Brad Pitt plays Mickey O’Neil, an Irish Traveller who is also a formidable bare-knuckle boxing champion. The character is known as a ‘pikey’, and he speaks in a thick, intentionally unintelligible accent that makes him one of the film’s most memorable elements.

Mickey gets entangled with criminals in the London underworld after he is supposed to throw a boxing match but knocks out his opponent instead. His unpredictable nature and incredible fighting skill cause major problems for the film’s gangsters.

‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009)

Pitt portrays Lieutenant Aldo Raine, the charismatic and ruthless leader of a special unit of Jewish-American soldiers operating in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. His character, known for the prominent scar on his neck, has a simple mission to strike fear into the hearts of the German army.

Raine leads his team, known as the Basterds, on a brutal guerrilla campaign. He is a commanding presence with a thick Southern accent and a folksy but menacing demeanor, and he is singularly focused on his violent and vengeful goal.

‘Se7en’ (1995)

In this dark thriller, Pitt plays David Mills, a young, optimistic, and hot-headed homicide detective who has just moved to a grim, rain-soaked city. He is partnered with a weary, veteran detective who is just one week away from retirement.

The two detectives are tasked with hunting down a meticulous and brilliant serial killer who bases his crimes on the seven deadly sins. Mills’s idealism is slowly eroded as he becomes more deeply involved in the increasingly disturbing and personal case.

‘Fight Club’ (1999)

Brad Pitt gives an iconic performance as Tyler Durden, a charismatic and anarchic soap salesman who befriends the film’s insomniac narrator. Tyler is a rebellious and anti-consumerist figure who believes that modern men have been emasculated by society.

He and the narrator create an underground fight club where men can feel alive again through bare-knuckle brawling. Tyler’s philosophy soon attracts a legion of followers, and he transforms the simple club into a subversive national organization with a much more destructive agenda.

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