3:57PM, Aug 20, 2009
He’s worshipped by fans as a model of manhood and he’s made a name for himself as a serious actor beyond his looks, so why did Brad Pitt want to make himself look like an idiot in the Coen brothers’ Burn After Reading?
There’s no point in denying it – Brad Pitt is known for his beauty. For many he’ll always be the cowhick hunk who bared his behind in Thelma & Louise (1991). It’s not like he hasn’t tried – by the time he openly mocked himself in David Fincher’s cult masterpiece Fight Club (1999), he had proven his acting chops in the likes of Twelve Monkeys and True Romance.
The Ocean’s movies with heartthrob pal George Clooney followed, while Pitt met wife Angelina Jolie on the set of assassins comedy Mr & Mrs. Smith. He’s even courted Oscar® with Fincher and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. This month he’s strutting his nasty stuff in Quentin Tarantino’s crazy WW2 flick Inglourious Basterds to gleeful effect.
In the middle of all this, he found time to build houses in devastated New Orleans and fulfil his ambition of working with the Coen brothers in spy comedy Burn After Reading, with party buddy Clooney. But how would you feel about looking very stupid indeed on cinema screens the world over? Luckily, Pitt’s big enough to take it in his movie-star stride...
Sky Movies Magazine: You play a real knucklehead in Burn After Reading…
Brad Pitt: I’d been trying to get into a Coen brothers movie for some time, so when they called I was very happy. But after reading the part, which they said was written specially for me, I was a bit unsure whether to be flattered or insulted [ laughs]. I’m still a bit unsure. But it’s more fun to play the guys who make wrong choices, have limited experience, and make the wrong presumptions.
SMM: How much of the character comes from your, ahem, actual personality?
BP: It’s all me [ laughs]. Actually, it’s a mystery. I’m somewhat disturbed by it all. My other half’s disturbed by it as well. It was just the man’s idea of assuming or presuming a situation would go the way it’s supposed to and then it doesn’t. You know, not understanding how there is any other realm of possibility.
SMM: You’re very funny in the film. Why haven’t you done more comedy?
BP: I’ve been doing comedies for years. Maybe they weren’t so funny [ laughs]. You approach all your roles in the same way. You just start understanding how they view the world, the situations they find themselves in and how they respond to it. It’s really no different – you never know if it’s going to work or not.
SMM: How are Angelina and the family?
BP: All good. Everyone is healthy and great. Sleep is something we long for but we get along. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had; it’s also the biggest pain in the arse. But I love it and can’t recommend it enough. When I do have time to work, then I really have to focus because I know there’s a short window to get something done.
SMM: It’s 20 years since you began your movie career. What are your favourite roles?
BP: I like the most irreverent ones. They’ve been my favourites. And working with David Fincher. That’s the other thing – the older I get, or the more I do, it becomes more about the people I’m working with than anything else.
SMM: At 44, do you choose your roles differently now than earlier in your career?
BP: Shooting is very hard, and if you must work hard, you have to invest all your energies in something that’s worth it. Being a father, I want my children to be proud of what I’m doing, when they will be old enough to see my movies, so that has an effect, yes.
SMM: Do you ever think about directing?
BP: No. To be a director you have to be a real perfectionist. I would get mad. I’d rather build houses. It’s very similar to directing, actually, because you’re inside this piece of art, you’re surrounded by it. It’s electrifying.
SMM: You seem more comfortable with your fame these days compared to the problems you said you had with it during the ’90s…
BP: There’s still no rulebook for it. Angie and I talk about this – it’s gotten so out of hand, this constant assault on your peace. It is not what we signed up for, when we started doing films.
SMM: How do you get away from all that when you’re at home?
BP: I spend time with my kids and I write horrible songs. I play the guitar. I love music, but I really suck. We watch DVDs. I love driving my bike around, playing with my dogs. We do lots of barbecues. We travel a lot. We have a good life, for sure.
BURN AFTER READING BEGINS ON SKY MOVIES PREMIERE/HD FROM SATURDAY 12th SEPTEMBER AT 9.40PM
Words: Richard Matthews
This interview first appeared in the Sky Movies Magazine, September 2009
