A 22-year-old Brad Pitt discusses his favourite actors and career aspirations
Hollywood hero Brad Pitt rose to fame and fortune from a modest and devoutly religious household in Springfield, Missouri. The region was distinctly picturesque with “a lot of hills, a lot of lakes,” which Pitt once described as “Mark Twain country, Jesse James country.” Like most children of the 1960s, he grew up transfixed by the bright screen in his front room, escaping into the vast landscapes that defined the ubiquitous Western movies of the time.
“I grew up in Oklahoma and Missouri, and I just loved film,” Pitt told Backstage in 2012. “My folks would take us to the drive-in on summer nights, and we’d sit on the hood of the car. I just had this profound love for storytelling. I think it’s just an amazing thing we get to do. We’re so complex, mysteries to ourselves; we’re difficult to each other. And then here’s this storytelling that reminds us we’re all the same. I consider it such a privilege.”
In 1986, aged just 22, Pitt was invited to one of his earliest interviews to discuss his recent acting breakthrough in small TV roles and various commercials. First, Pitt took stock of his journey so far. “I was in college—I was studying advertising and graphic design at the University of Missouri,” Pitt told Tiger Beat. “I told my parents I was going to California to go to art school. I didn’t tell them I wanted to act. I always wanted to give this a try on my own. When I got out here, I started to check things out, and I never made it to art school.”
Like most travelling students, Pitt was penniless and in need of a place to lay his head at night. Fortunately, he had some contacts to fall back on. “I knew this girl from home whose dad had a place out here. There was just a housekeeper living in it, so I got to say there free for a month,” he said.
“Then I got some guys—there were eight of us living in this little apartment in North Hollywood. It was a blast. We had no furniture—we all slept on the floor in the front room. We had a TV, a toaster oven and a stereo. What more does a guy need? We were all short on girlfriends and money!”
In 1985 Pitt landed a small role on the long-running soap opera Another World. His two-episode appearance first aired in May 1987. “I did a few weeks on Another World,” Pitt told Tiger Beat of his early breakout role. “I had to go to New York for that, and I had never been there. Then I got Dallas, and in between filming those, I did a Growing Pains episode. I did a Mountain Dew commercial—got to waterski in Florida. And I just got a McDonald’s commercial today! My mom is so proud!”
Later, Pitt was challenged to name his favourite actor. Finding it difficult to name just one, Pitt settled for five. “Jack Nicholson is up there,” he pondered. “I love Mickey Rourke—he blows my mind. I love Sean Penn, even with the bad press he gets. When he is on the screen, I admire him. I like Timothy Hutton, too. I have never really gotten into the classics, which I have been trying to learn about lately. Marlon Brando blows me away. The minute he came on the screen in Streetcar Named Desire, wooooo!”
Towards the end of his conversation with Tiger Beat, Pitt was asked where he saw himself in a decade. “In ten years, I’ll be 32,” he calculated. “I hope I am married with some Brad Jrs. I would like to be in a position like Kevin Costner. He’s on top and respected as an actor. I just want to be a respected actor. I want to make people feel things like how I feel when I go to the movies. I would like to have my own production company.”
By 1996, Pitt had achieved success beyond his wildest dreams with roles in high-profile movies like Thelma & Louise, Interview with the Vampire, Legends of the Fall, Se7en. His ambition of running a production company would follow in 2001 when he co-founded Plan B Entertainment with Brad Grey, Kristin Hahn and Jennifer Aniston.
Watch Brad Pitt perform an early role in Dallas below.