Most people associate Brad Pitt with a whole bunch of blockbusters and the actresses Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie. But there are a number of things you may not have known about this famous charmer and Hollywood sex symbol. Come with LP-Life to recall his life and find out what his first job was, why he was banned from entering China for life, or under what circumstances he started his stellar career!
Sweet home Missouri
Brad Pitt, whose original name is William Bradley Pitt, was born on December 18, 1963 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He grew up in Missouri in the family of a cargo business owner and a school counselor. He has a younger brother, Doug, and a younger sister, Julia.
At high school, Pitt was very active in sports. He played golf, tennis and went swimming. Later, he decided to study journalism at the University of Missouri. In his last year, however, he realized that he didn't really like the media and that he would rather become an actor. And so he went to seek his fortune in Los Angeles, dreaming about conquering Hollywood.
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Brad Pitt v mládí.Source: Profimedia.cz
He drove strippers in a limousine and wore a chicken costume
Before becoming a famous actor, he went through a wide range of jobs, such as limousine driver for strippers, mover of refrigerators or mascot of the El Pollo Loco restaurant chain, dressed like a giant chicken. Eventually, he began to take acting classes and shortly afterwards accompanied his classmate to an audition - something she must have regretted later, because the agent ended up choosing Pitt instead of her. After seven months in Los Angeles, he was able to secure an agent and regular acting jobs.
A pretty face
The legendary actor first appeared on television in several episodes of Dallas, then the sitcom Growing Pains and the series Glory Days in the 1990s. He made his debut on the big screen in the horror film Cutiing Class in 1989, which kickstarted his stellar career and the offers haven't stopped coming since. In 1994, he starred in the film Interview With the Vampire, where he appeared alongside his colleague Tom Cruise. In the same year, he also got a role in the film Legend of the Fall and was proclaimed the sexiest man alive by the People magazine.
Alongside big stars
A year later he appeared in Se7en,a film that tells the story of a serial killer obssessed by the seven deadly sins. Pitt starred in it alongside Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow, who played his wife. The love they shared on screen later trasferred into their real life. A year later, Pitt got engaged to Paltrow, which instantly boosted his popularity. They both claimed that it had been "love at first sight". The pair stayed together for two and a half years, during which time they became one of the most adored and famous Hollywood couples. But then, after a seven-month-engagement, they broke up for unknown reasons.
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Pitt ve filmu Sedm let v Tibetu. Source: Profimedia.cz
Seven years in Tibet and a ban on entering China
To cope with the break up with the love of his life, Pitt delved fully into work. He flew to Argentina to shoot Seven Years in Tibet, an ambitious $ 70 million project that met with mixed reviews. The film openly supports the Dalai Lama and identifies the Chinese Communists as the main culprits of all the suffering in the oppressed country. For his lead role, Pitt was awarded a lifetime ban on entering China.
Hollywood darlings with Jennifer Aniston
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Brad Pitt a Jennifer AnistonSource: Profimedia.cz
The fame the actor had been builing up through his film career rose rapidly when he first appeared alongside Jennifer Aniston in 1998. A year later, they officially began to visit public events together, soon becoming a prototype of an ideal Hollywood couple. The fans adored them. In 2000, they got married in Malibu.
But then Angelina appeared...
And as is often the case with Hollywood couples, even this marriage didn't last forever. In 2005, Brad and Jennifer officially announced their divorce. In the same year, Pitt started shooting the film Mr. & Mrs. Smith alongside the bewitching Angelina Jolie. Their love affair soon came to light, on which Jolie later commented in an interview:
"Because of the film, we ended up being brought together to do all these crazy things, and I think we found this strange friendship and partnership that kind of just suddenly happened. I think a few months in, I realized, God, I can’t wait to get to work."
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Pitt a Jolie ve filmu. Source: Profimedia.cz
In 2006, the couple adopted two children, Maddox and Zahar, from Cambodia and Ethiopia. Their first biological child (son Shiloh) came in May 2006. A year later, they adopted a boy named Pax from Vietnam, and in 2008 they added biological twins, son Knox and daughter Vivienne, to their family. Pitt and Jolie got married in 2014, but two years later Jolie filed for divorce.
Acting versatility
On the big screen, Pitt showed great flexibility and ability to portray almost any role. He starred in the Fight Club, which was considered the most controversial film of the year. In 2007, he appeared as a blackmailer in Burn After Reding and also as a man who doesn't age in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He received an Oscar nomination for this lead role.
Another Oscar nomination
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Pitt ve filmu Tenkrát v Hollywoodu.Source: Profimedia.cz
In 2009, he collaborated with the phenomenal director Quentin Tarantino on the film Inglourios Bastreds. More crucial for Pitt, however, was the baseball drama Moneybal, thanks to which he received another Oscar nomination for a lead role.
Last year, he worked with Tarantino once again alongside DiCapriao in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. And things finally fell into place! He won an Oscar as well as a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.
Brad Pitt as a producer
In addition to acting, Pitt owns the film production company Plan B Entertainment. The company collaborated with several others on the production of 12 Years a Slave, and Pitt won an Oscar for his production work.
Since his divorce from Angelina Jolie, Pitt lives alone in his house in the Hollywood Hills and he's currently taking a short break from acting.
