Everybody knowsBrad Pitt. This actor and producer is, hands down, one of the biggest stars in the film industry and a very influential figure worldwide. Throughout his over 35-year career, Pitt has been acclaimed for many of the roles he has taken on, earning two Oscars and two Golden Globe Awards, among other accolades. Pitt took his first steps in the industry in 1987, making his acting debut in uncredited roles in the filmsNo Way OutandNo Man’s Land, and that same year he also ventured into television, with a small part in the soap operaAnother World. From then on, he became increasingly well-known for his roles, establishing himself as a great artist with productions such asSe7enand12 Monkeys.
Over the years, Pitt hasheaded major blockbustersthat have become cinema classics, such asFight Club,Ocean’s Eleven,andThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button, among many others. Furthermore, since 2002 he has workedas a producerthrough Plan B Entertainment, a production company that has handled projects such asTroy,Moonlight,andVice, to name a few. To this day, Pitt remains one of the most renowned actors in the industry and is still working non-stop: in 2022, he has been featured inThe Lost City,Bullet Train,andBabylon,and has also produced a number of other blockbusters. Here’s a look back at some of his early films from when he was just kicking off his career.
10Cutting Class
Cutting Classis a 1989 slasher film that presented Pitt with one of his first opportunities to shine as a lead actor. Directed by Rospo Pallenberg in his directorial debut, and starring Pitt alongside Donovan Leitch and Jill Schoelen, this production features Paula, a young student and cheerleader who is torn between two pretenders: Dwight, the school’s bad boy, and Brian, a disturbed young man who has just been released from a mental institution following the mysterious death of his father.
When a series of bloody murders starts haunting the school, Paula becomes suspicious that one of her two suitors might be the killer, and she has only a short window of time to unmask him if she wants to make it out alive and save the rest of the students. Unfortunately, this production failed to impress critics and earned very poor reviews.
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9Johnny Suede
Johnny Suedemarked Tom DiCillo’s directorial debut, and in 1991 it won Best Picture at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, foreshadowing a promising future for Pitt, its leading star. In this production, he plays Johnny, a young man who desperately desires to become a star like his idol Ricky Nelson. He mimics him in everything from his clothes to his massive hairstyle, but there is one item missing to complete the look: a pair of black suede shoes.
One lucky night, Johnny comes across his dream pair of shoes, and from then on, his life changes completely. In this new stage he meets Yvonne, a woman who forces him to rethink many important aspects of his life. The cast of this production also includes Catherine Keener, Calvin Levels, Nick Cave and Michael Luciano.
8The Dark Side of the Sun
The Dark Side of the Sunis a 1988 American-Yugoslav film directed by Božidar Nikolić in which Pitt got his first credited role and, moreover, the leading part. It features performances by Guy Boyd and Milena Dravić, and introduces Rick, a young man who suffers from a strange skin disease that stops him from exposing himself to any kind of light, particularly sunlight.
Since he first became aware of his condition, Rick has been looking for ways to cure himself, but not one of the treatments he tried had any effect. Tired of living an unhappy life and after one last unsuccessful treatment, he decides to stop trying and focus on enjoying his life, embarking on an adventure that leads him to meet a young woman who sweeps him off his feet.
7Across the Tracks
In 1991, Rick Schroder and Pitt starred inAcross the Tracks, a film written and directed by Sandy Tung that also features performances by Carrie Snodfgress, David Anthony Marshall, and Thomas Mikal Ford. This production follows Joe Maloney, a youth track star who works hard attempting to earn a scholarship to a prestigious university. However, his efforts to pursue a bright future may be thwarted once his troubled brother Billy is released from Juvenile Detention and moves back into the family home, sparking a fierce rivalry between the two to win the scholarship and secure a successful future.Across the Tracksearned rave reviews upon its release, primarily due to the performance of the cast and the script.
6Happy Together
Pitt has a small supporting role in the 1989 romantic comedyHappy Together, directed by Mel Damski and starring Patrick Dempsey and Helen Slater. It follows Christopher, a very serious young man planning to succeed in college. However, it all goes downhill when he discovers that, due to an unfortunate mistake, his roommate is Alex, a young lady who is the total opposite of him.
Unlike Christopher, Alex has no interest in studying, and concentrates on going out and having fun. Neither of them like the idea of sharing a room, and they see the other as a burden, but fate gets in the way and, soon enough, the students discover their blossoming feelings for one another as they work their way through their differences.
5Kalifornia
Brian Kessler is a freshly graduated journalist who aims to work on a book about American serial killers. Together with his photographer girlfriend, he sets out on a road trip to California to visit different famous crime scenes, and to cut down on costs, they travel with Early Grayce and his childlike girlfriend Adele. Halfway there, Brian and his girlfriend realize that they don’t have to go far in order to face dangerous and brutal criminals.
Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, and Michelle Forbes star inKalifornia, a 1993 film that marked Dominic Sena’s directorial debut. This production, that turned into a box-office flop, was met with mixed reviews, but earned three Saturn Award nominations for its cast’s performance.
Related:Brad Pitt’s Constant Eating in Movies, Explained
4Legends of the Fall
Legends of the Fallis a 1994 Edward Zwick film that earned Pitt his first Golden Globe nomination. He stars alongside Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Henry Thomas, and Julia Ormond. This production, based on Jim Harrison’s 1979 novel, introduces Colonel William Ludlow, a retired soldier who lives on a ranch in Montana with his three children. This family’s life is entirely transformed by World War I and the arrival of Susannah, Samuel Ludlow’s fiancée, who stirs up feelings in his siblings.
Legends of the Fallwas met with favorable reviews and was later nominated for three Oscars, winning in theBest Cinematography category. It also became a box-office hit, grossing $160 million worldwide.
3A River Runs Through It
A River Runs Through Itis yet another Brad Pitt-starring film that won an Oscar for Best Cinematography, and received nominations in two additional categories and other award ceremonies. This 1992 production directed by Robert Redford is based on Norman Maclean’s novel of the same name, and stars Craig Sheffer, Tom Skerritt, Brenda Blethyn and Emily Lloyd, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Van Gravage making small cameos. It follows the life and transition into adulthood of Norman and Paul, two brothers from a small Montana town who are completely different from one another except for their passion for fishing and their love of the river where they learned to do it.
2Thelma & Louise
The 1991 filmThelma & Louisehas become an all-time classic, earning box-office success and rave reviews that led to several Oscar nominations and the award for Best Original Screenplay. In this Ridley Scott film, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon play Thelma and Louise, two best friends with unhappy and boring lives who decide to take a weekend getaway to a mountain cabin. Unfortunately, their plans take a turn halfway through the trip after one of them is sexually assaulted, and her attacker ends up dead, forcing them to change their schedule and run away. In this production,Pitt plays J. D., an attractive and mysterious young man whom the main characters pick up mid-route.
1True Romance
Wrapping up this list isTrue Romance, a 1993 film written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott featuring Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Pitt and Christopher Walken. The film, which became a cult classic after a poor performance at the box-office, features Clarence Worley, a young man who falls in love with a female escort named Alabama, and ends up marrying her a day after they first meet.
As a result of the crush and willing to do everything in his power to pursue his love with this young woman, Clarence ends up killing Alabama’s pimp and mistakenly stealing a huge stash of the man’s drugs, thus becoming the mob’s main target and jeopardizing his life. In this movie, Pitt plays Floyd, a friend of Clarence and Dick’s roommate.
