The Many Roles of Brad Pitt

by Helen Earnshaw | 9 June 2009

Brad Pitt is one of cinema's biggest names enjoying a career that has spanned over twenty years and has varied his role from comedy to drama, rough and ready to suave and sophisticated.

This week The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is released on DVD and we watch the actor age, in a backwards, manner, before our very eyes.

So with that in mind here at FemaleFirst we taken a look at his roles over the years.

And it was Pitt's good looks and wash board stomach that shot him to fame back in 1991's Thelma and Louise as J.D, let's face it it wasn't his acting ability that we were all talking about!

In his love scene with Geena Davis shirtless and wearing a cowboy hat Pitt established himself as a sex symbol.

Critical success came his way in 1994 when he took on the role of Louis Pointe du Lac in Interview with the Vampire, based on Anne Rice's novel.

And it was a change of appearance for Pitt but the film cemented him as an actor to keep an eye on, as well as all the girls falling in love with him all over again.

1999 brought the actor his most iconic role of his career as Tyler Durden in Fight Club, one of the cinema's greatest anti heroes in recent years.

And while Durden isn't a ruthless killer or a defender of the public he is a modern anti-hero in the sense that he is anti-capitalism, anti-credit card, he’s against being made into a zombie and doesn't follow the crowd.

Tyler Durden is a strong, free thinking and independent individual who fights against wrongs that many feel powerless to stop or change, however he has no moral reason behind why he fights he does it because he can and wants to.

And it was swoon city as Pitt got into shape and once again got his shirt off, ok he was having the shit kicked out of him most of the time buy hey you can't have everything!

After the success of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Brit director Guy Ritchie was making a bit of a name for himself.

Snatch was the filmmakers next project with a great British cast including Jason Statham so what a surprise when one of Hollywood's biggest names should pop up in the middle of it.

It was great to see Pitt mix up his roles and it proved to be a quality piece of casting as he took on the role of Irish Gypsy boxer Mickey O'Neil. With an almost impossible to understand Irish accent it was a hilarious performance from Pitt which showed the comedy side to the actor.

He stuck with comedy with 2001's Ocean's Eleven alongside George Clooney, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts.

And he was back to his lovely self as the suave Rusty Ryan who helps Danny Ocean mastermind stealing from the Bellagio casino.

Ocean's Eleven was a massive critical and commercial success as it went on to gross over $450 at the global box office. The film went on to spawn two sequels.

In more recent years Pitt has tried to shake off his pretty boy label taking on more challenging and dramatic movie roles.

After Babel he took on the role of Jesse James in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The movie was a huge critical hit and Pitt won the Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup Best Actor.

While many expected the actor to scoop a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance he missed out, the film also performed poorly at the box office.

After returning to a comic role with Burn After Reading, a Coen brothers movie, Pitt returned to the dramatic roles with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The movie is based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald and follows Benjamin who is born an old man and ages backwards.

The movie was a critical triumph and a huge box office success, leading the Oscar nominations earlier this year. Pitt picked up a string of nomination during the awards season at the Baftas, Golden Globes and Oscars.