ACTOR

“I’m one of those people you hate
because of genetics.”
— Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt is one of the best known, most popular, and highest paid actors in history. But it wasn’t always that way. He worked in a few smaller movies before “stumbling” into a bit part in the movie Thelma and Louise. After that, his success was cemented. Pitt has was then twice named People Magazine’s Sexiest Man, and his status as one of the most powerful men in Hollywood has continued to rise ever since. He is a true American Icon, and a true Missouri legend.

The Early Years:

William Bradley Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma on December 18, 1963. His family moved to Springfield where he spent the remainder of his childhood. He grew up in a middle-class family, graduating from Kickapoo High School in 1984. In school, he was involved in sports, school musicals, and student government. He headed off to the University of Missouri in Columbia, but dropped out two credits shy of attaining his degree to try his hand at acting in Hollywood.

Rise To Fame:

The road to success in Hollywood can be difficult. Pitt endured the tough years by supporting himself driving exotic dancer around in limos, moving refrigerators, and modeling. He started getting small TV and movie roles in shows such as Dallas, thirtysomething, 21 Jump Street, Growing Pains, and Head of the Class. In 1988, he landed his first starring role in The Dark Side of the Sun. While the film was being edited, a civil war broke out in Yugoslavia where the film was being produced. Much of the country was damaged or destroyed, as well as much of the footage. The footage remained lost until 1996, when the film was finally released.

“Heartthrobs are a dime a dozen.”
— Brad Pitt

Pitt’s big break came in 1991, when he turned a small movie role into the most talked about part of the years. The movie was Thelma & Louise. He played the role of J.D., a drifter who coached Thelma (Geena Davis) on how to rob stores but ended up robbing her instead. In the end, his shirtless dance in the hotel room made him an overnight success. That role paved the way for even bigger parts in movies like A River Runs Through It and Se7en.

Show Me Success

Bigger movie roles followed, soon making him one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history. He now commands more than $20,000,000 per movie. As Pitt continued to rack up movie roles and enormous amounts of money for the studios, he also began winning numerous awards as well. He was honed with awards for Best Male Performance and Most Desirable Male for Interview With a Vampire in 1995 in the MTV Movie Awards. He followed those awards up the very next year, again winning Most Desirable Male for Se7en. Also, in 1996, he won his first Golden Globe award for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor for Twelve Monkeys. That was followed by a Best Actor Award in the Rembrandt Audience Awards for Seven Years in Tibet.

Brad turned his acting career in a new direction by creating a production company called Plan B Productions. He combined his acting skills and his producing interest in 2005 to make a film based on fellow Missourian, Jesse James. Another one of the movies Plan B helped produce was Troy, in which he also starred.

Brad Pitt is truly one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history. And the foundation for the stellar career was built right here in the Show Me State.

Extra! Extra!

• In 1995, he was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 25 sexiest stars in film history.
• Brad was a tennis star and basketball player at Kickapoo High School.
• He posed for the Men of Mizzou calendar.