Welcome to Bradfans.net, a fan site for the work of the talented actor and producer, Brad Pitt. Mr. Pitt's most recent on-screen project was Ocean's Thirteen, and his upcoming projects include The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Brad Pitt interview
(Cinemas Online, 2003)

Brad Pitt - once dubbed the sexiest man on the planet - has had a couple of easy years while his wife Jennifer Aniston has been stealing all the thunder by winning Emmy awards for Friends and scoring on the big screen in such films as The Goodbye Girl. Pitt's low profile was due to a conjunction of circumstances - he had to back out of The Fountain, the much delayed Darren Aronofsky directed sci-fi flick,but has now signed on for the role of Achilles in Troy, the cinematic version of Homer's epic, The Iliad. Meanwhile he branched out in to animation by being the voice of Sinbad.

William Bradley Pitt was born on 18 December 1963 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, which means he's 40 later this year. He was the first of three children (he has a younger brother, Doug, and a younger sister, Julie) to Bill, the manager of a trucking firm, and Jane. Later the family moved to Springfield, Missouri, and it was during his years at the town's Kickapoo High School that the teenage Brad first found media appreciation - by posing for a campus calendar. At the university of Missouri, Pitt went on to major in journalism but he left two credits short of his degree to try his luck in California.

Like so many young actors before him, in between driving strippers around in limos and dressing up as a giant chicken to advertise restaurants, Pitt started out plying his good looks in a series of beefcake roles. He made his feature film debut, uncredited, in 1987's car thief drama No Man's Land, before rising to Preppie Kid At Fight' later that year in a so-so adaptation of Brett Easton Ellis's novel, Less Than Zero. The next three years brought a series of traight-to -video howlers and TV dramas before his brief appearance - as a cowboy hustler - in Thelma & Louise finally got him noticed.

He took the lead in Tom DiCillo's 1991 debut Johnny Suede, then moved into the mainstream with scene-stealing parts in A River Runs Through It and True Romance and leads in Kalifornia, Interview with the Vampire and Legends of the Fall. But, while his career was getting him booked by casting agents, it was also gaining him attention in other areas.

Before his Malibu wedding to Jennifer Aniston in 2000 he had had a series of high-profile girlfriends, including actresses Robin Givens, Juliette Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow.

THE INTERVIEW

Q Woud you deliberately avoid work assignments that would keep you and Jennifer apart for a long time?
A Jen's everything to me. I'm determined that this business won't screw up our marriage.

Q Do you ever get tired of being constantly referred to as a pretty face?
A I've got to live with it, so... you know, whatever. But those People magazine awards for being the sexiest man alive - well it's not to be taken seriously. People magazine is not to be taken seriously. I long ago accepted that I am what I am.

Q You said recently that you were 'bored' with yourself in films and that you wanted to investigage new directions. What did you mean exactly?
A I didn't explain that well. I was referring to the viability of a career. We have a shelf-life, and I'm very aware of that. And while I have this opportunity now, I want to be able to work with directors who mean something to me, and make some films that mean something to me.

Q So what are the criteria that are important to you?
A It's the script that counts, every time. That, and the director, and the rest of the cast - the people you're going to be working with and practically living with for six months or more. Why would I want to spend half a year of my life working with people I didn't respect, making something that I didn't feel good about? I'm not saying I'm going to go off and only make small, no-budget films. I think there's room for big and small films, and you can make intelligent, inspiring big-budget movies just as easily as you can make soulless, crass independent ones.

As I said, it's all about the people you're working with, and the material you've got. The rest of it is all just Hollywood bull.

Q Why did you decide to join Jennifer and take a came role in Friends?
A I did it purely because it was fun. The script was funny, Jennifer and I had talked about the idea of doing it for quite some time, and everything just fell into place. I made sure I didn't play Rachel's boyfriend, though; that would have been more than a little naff, don't you think?

Q Now to Sinbad - and the reason you're here. You're the voice of Sinbad the pirate, and Catherine Zeta-Jones is your love interest, with Michelle Pfeiffer as the troublemaking Eris, goddess of chaos. it sounds fun but why have you decided to turn to animation at this stage in your career?
A. Because the animation world has become so sophisticated. They're at the top of their game. Was it something to store away for my kids in the future? I'm not thinking that far ahead ... I haven't had any voice training so I was a bit surprised when I was approached, but I thought what the hell. Fortunately they didn't want a dialect. I was a little on my left foot when I first got it. I just adapted and I was working with a bunch of great people. I'd say they captured some of my quirks although you never see me swing from a rope!

Q So how much acting did you have to put into it all?
A I'm sure a more respectable actor would have put more into it. Me, I was just having a laugh, really. It's rather like reading aloud. We take several cracks at it and then we expand on it or get rid of it. My name is on the credit for voice but it's a tiny component of the overall piece. Someone asked me: 'How did you bring this character to life?' Well, the answer is that I didn't - someone else did, meaning 400 animators over four years. There were things that worked and didn't worked. You have to play with it. You discover things as you go along and angle towards it and expand on it. Sometimes there were difficulties and you're hitting the wall. They push you to play around with the dialogue and I just went with the flow.

Q How's your physique at the moment?
A I'm muscled up. The work I'm doing now (Troy for Wolfgang Petersen) required six months of training and a long preparation period as well as the dissection of the character and themes. This is the nonsense that we actors get up to. I ease into it more that way and try to get more out of it. 'm getting quite adept with a sword and there was absolutely no pressure playing a Greek god! It's working out alright. I did all kinds of reading around the subject. The great thing about it is having so much research on which to build your character.

Q Do you like wearing Greek gear?
A It took a few weeks to get used to the skirt but I've grown to like it. It's a sort of kilt although it's a bit awkward with all my tackle hanging out. You've just got to pay attention and strap it down because the skirts are short! Somehow the Trojans got the longer ones!

Q What's your schedule been like?
A I haven't worked for two years apart from doing Sinbad. I've had a couple of things inadvertently fall through. Our production company is producing a new version of Willy Wonka. We'll go ahead with that once we find the right director who's got the vision.

Q You're turning 40 later this year - how do you respond to the advancing years?
A I already feel like I'm 40 in a way because somehow I missed a year. I dunno when you're 39 you might as well be 40! Somewhere in my mind I feel like I'm 40. A couple of years ago I missed a year when I thought I was a year older than I was. I was arguing with Jen [Jennifer Anniston] about it, I don't know how it happened. But you don't feel any older.

Q Do you worry about your looks.
A No I don't but listen you see yourself getting older and you do that inventory in your twenties and thirties did I get everything out of it that I wanted, I wish I'd done that and I guess you could pound yourself to death with regrets. But you can use all that as a marker and to decide where you go from there.

Q How do you like travelling?
A I like my home. I used to love to go travel and explore but it gets harder as you get older.

Q Are you sporty?
A I like watching those extreme sports channels these guys are maniacs - but I've never tried it myself.

Q Would you work together with Jennifer as a couple?
A You look at the couples who do work together and then you look at the results. Need I say more. Often there's too much baggage in the way but I wouldn't rule it out.

Q So what do you like doing together?
A Jen and I are going to take some cooking lessons. We're going to tackle that one together. We suddenly got obsessed with the food channel. These guys are great like the Naked Chef, it's delightful. And so is Ready Steady Chef. It's a whole art form if you get into it. Everything has to be in context for me what time of day, and what kind of mood I'm in.

Q What's your next film?
A I'm working with Nicole Kidman on Mr and Mrs Smith which is directed by Doug Liman who made The Bourne Identity. We play a husband and wife who are both assassins and are hired to kill each other. Simon Kinberg wrote the script. The Hollywood Reporter. has described it as The War of the Roses meets True Lies which gives a useful clue as to where it's coming from.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Character: Jesse James
Released: September 21, 2007
Images: Stills, trailer caps, production photos
Info: Official website

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Character: Benjamin Button
Released: November 26, 2008
Info: IMDB

Burn After Reading
Character:
Released: 2008
Info: IMDB

State of Play
Character: Cal McCaffrey
Released: 2008
Info: IMDB

Dirty Tricks
Character: John Dean
Released: 2008
Info: IMDB

The Fighter
Character:
Released: 2009
Info: IMDB

Chad Schmidt
Character: Chad Schmidt/Himself
Released: 2008
Info: IMDB

Dallas Buyer's Club
Character:
Released: 2008
Info: IMDB