Brad Pitt
Who was Brad Pitt?
American actor and filmmaker (born 1963)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Brad Pitt (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Brad Pitt was born William Bradley Pitt on December 18, 1963, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and mostly grew up in Springfield, Missouri. He went to Kickapoo High School, where he was involved in debate, golf, and school musicals, showing early talent for performance and speaking in public. After graduating, he attended the University of Missouri, studying journalism with an emphasis on advertising. Just a few credits short of finishing his degree, Pitt made the bold move to Los Angeles in 1986 to pursue acting, a decision that would shape the next forty years of his career.
Before Fame
Growing up in Springfield, Missouri, Pitt was influenced by his conservative, middle-American upbringing in a Baptist family. His dad ran a trucking company, and his mom worked as a school counselor. Life in the Midwest gave him a down-to-earth perspective, which he later said helped him during the more challenging times in his career. After moving to Los Angeles with little money and few connections, he took acting classes, did odd jobs like driving strippers in a limousine, and even dressed as a giant chicken for a fast-food restaurant. He gradually landed small TV roles throughout the late 1980s. His big break came with a brief but striking role in Thelma and Louise in 1991, which introduced him to mainstream audiences and kicked off one of Hollywood's longest-lasting careers.
Key Achievements
- Won the Academy Award for Best Picture as a producer of 12 Years a Slave (2014)
- Received the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in 12 Monkeys (1996)
- Won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Inglourious Basterds (2010)
- Earned the New York Film Critics Circle Award, National Society of Film Critics Award, and Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor in Moneyball (2011)
- Established Plan B Entertainment, which produced multiple critically acclaimed and commercially successful films including The Tree of Life and World War Z
Did You Know?
- 01.Pitt was just a few credits away from completing his journalism degree at the University of Missouri when he left for Los Angeles in 1986.
- 02.He wore the same pair of jeans for nearly his entire shoot on Fight Club, reportedly going weeks without washing them as part of his character preparation.
- 03.Pitt collected architecturally significant properties for years and has cited the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright on his aesthetic sensibilities, leading him to design and sell his own line of furniture.
- 04.His production company, Plan B Entertainment, was responsible for producing 12 Years a Slave, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2014.
- 05.Pitt suffered a real shoulder injury during the filming of Troy in 2004, tearing his Achilles tendon while portraying the Greek hero Achilles.
Family & Personal Life
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor | 2011 | — |
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast | 2010 | — |
| National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor | 2011 | — |
| New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor | 2011 | — |
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast | 2009 | — |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble | 2009 | — |
| Rembrandt Award | 2010 | — |
| Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor | 1996 | — |
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | 2010 | — |
| Academy Award for Best Picture | 2014 | — |