Brad Pitt has consistently delivered acclaimed performances throughout his career dating back to 1987 as Randy on TV’s Dallas. He reached stardom with a series of successful roles beginning with Legends of the Fall and Interview with the Vampire in 1994 followed by Se7en and 12 Monkeys in 1995. His next appearance on screen is a collaboration with Sandra Bullock and Daniel Radcliffe in The Lost City of D slated for early 2022.
He recently demonstrated flexibility as a producer for both film and television with 2018’s biopic Vice regarding former US Vice President Richard Cheney and the 2020 game show Lego Masters. In addition, he merged his talents in 2019’s space drama Ad Astra. His prowess has generated widespread recognition, most recently for a supporting actor Academy Award for 2019’s Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood.
Updated on August 2nd, 2022 by Colin McCormick: With Brad Pitt returning to the movies with the action thriller Bullet Train, many fans will be looking back over the actor's incredible career and at his most acclaimed movies. From smaller roles that stood out to some of the parts that helped make him a Hollywood icon, there are so many more great movies to explore in Pitt's career that highlight his immense talent.
Troy (2004) - 3.18
- Available on Netflix
Derived from Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, Wolfgang Petersen's depiction of the Helen of Troy tale from Greek mythology casts Pitt as legendary warrior Achilles recounting his campaign to conquer the supposedly impenetrable city during the Trojan War.
From a script by David Benioff of Game of Thrones, the story takes the poem’s claim of a decade-long struggle and concocts an invasion resembling D-Day with swords and spears creating a stereotypical war movie that feels like a weekend excursion.
Interview With The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) - 3.43
- Available on Paramount+, Roku and Hoopla
Based on the late Anne Rice’s best-selling novel, Interview with a Vampire finds Pitt as Louis de Pointe du Lac, a New Orleans socialite who recounts his search for other creatures of the night to a curious journalist (Christian Slater).
Co-starring Tom Cruise and a young Kirsten Dunst, this neo-noir horror-thriller checks off all the vampire tropes from thirst for blood to the need to avoid light. Looking back on recent history, such as True Blood and the Twilight franchise, the movie revived the genre and paved the way for many successful vampire stories on big and small screens.
Legends Of The Fall (1994) - 3.55
- Available on Starz and DIRECTV
From World War I through Prohibition, three brothers named Ludlow fall in love with Susannah (Julia Ormond) in early 20th century Montana.
The emotionally charged melodrama follows Pitt’s Tristan as he navigates through crises of love and faith. Pitt’s performance establishes Tristan in contrast to his family who clings to their sense of honor while struggling with self-confidence. Ultimately, Tristan prefers his independence and bears the consequences. With rave reviews for his performance, the film opened the floodgates for Pitt for future leading roles.
Moneyball (2011) - 3.80
- Available on Fubo TV, Hulu, AMC+, Roku and DIRECTV
Pitt earned an Oscar nomination for his role in Moneyball, the sports movie based on a true story. Pitt plays Billy Beane, the manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team who discovers a new way of using mathematics to build a winning team that can compete with the richer teams.
Even if the subject matter of baseball and math might not sound appealing to a lot of people, Moneyball is an entertaining and fascinating sports story.
12 Monkeys (1995) - 3.80
- Available on Max Go
In this blend of Hitchcockian suspense and time-travel science fiction, Pitt portrays Jeffery Goines, the man suspected of unleashing a plague that decimated Earth's population as the leader of the mysterious Army of the 12 Monkeys.
The time-shifting aspect lays the groundwork for the final twist that allows everything to come full circle. Pitt captured a Golden Globe and his first Oscar nomination for his performance, solidifying his status as a top Hollywood star.
Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood (2019) - 3.80
- Available on Fubo TV and DIRECTV
In this period piece from Quentin Tarantino, Pitt is a stunt actor named Cliff Booth laboring in 1960s Tinseltown who encounters members of the Charles Manson family.
In an examination of rich vs poor, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a has-been actor whose career is over yet still enjoys celebrity fringe benefits while Booth remains poor and takes it in stride. The nostalgia of the counterculture movement gives younger viewers a glimpse into the world their parents and grandparents lived through. Pitt received a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance.
Ocean's Eleven (2001) - 3.81
- Available on HBO Max and Peacock Premium
Pitt and George Clooney conspire with nine other criminals and con artists to engineer the ultimate heist with a potential $150 million payday.
Reinventing the Rat Pack movie from the 1960s, Ocean's Eleven is the rare remake that is better than the original. The plot’s intrigue is derived from a group of bandits targeting a swindling casino mogul (Andy Garcia) and accomplishing their objective behind the scenes yet in your face. It makes the viewer root for the “bad guys” and laugh about it. The film’s ensemble cast included the late comedians Bernie Mac and Carl Reiner.
True Romance (1993) - 3.88
- Available to rent on Apple TV
Long before collaborating with Quentin Tarantino in Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pitt took a small role in the Tarantino-written True Romance. The movie follows two lovers who find themselves hunted by gangsters after accidentally stealing a suitcase of drugs.
Pitt has a small but hilarious role as a stoner roommate who sits around doing nothing as chaos ensues. The movie features Tarantino's distinct dialogue and wild violence captured wonderfully by director Tony Scott. It is also a hugely impressive cast with so many stand-out performances.
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007) - 3.93
- Available on Hoopla
Pitt took on the role of the legendary outlaw Jesse James in a western that dismantled the legend of this man in some interesting ways. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford focuses on the young man who became part of James' gang only to eventually be the one to kill him.
The movie is a gorgeous-looking bit of filmmaking and the story is given a haunting quality. Casey Affleck gives a terrific performance as Ford, and Pitt is excellent as the complicated icon of American history.
Snatch (2000) - 3.93
- Available on Netflix
In this British ensemble comedy, Pitt is Mickey, an incoherent Irish traveler, caught in a web of deception and violence that involves a diamond in the wind pursued by multiple criminal parties.
The plot’s goofiness is its asset coupled with crisp dialogue from writer-director Guy Ritchie. It features many subtle gags like a dog who swallows the diamond setting each party on a collision course attempting the capture it. The cast is as random as its characters with Jason Statham and Benicio Del Toro co-starring.
Thelma & Louise (1991) - 4.01
- Available on HBO, HBO Max and Max Go
After years in smaller projects, Pitt found his breakout role in Ridley Scott's road-trip movie, Thelma & Louise. The movie stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as the titular best friends who go on the run after killing a man in self-defense. Pitt plays a young thief who the women meet on their journey.
There is a fun energy to the movie with humor and heart, yet the story is still grounded in an intense crime story. It makes for a fast-paced and exciting adventure with some great characters and a truly iconic ending.
12 Years A Slave (2013) - 4.07
- Available on HBO, HBO Max and DIRECTV
As a producer of the harrowing period drama 12 Years a Slave, Pitt won an Oscar for Best Picture. However, he also has a small role in the movie. It tells the true story of Solomon Northrup, a free man who was abducted and sold into slavery. Pitt plays a Canadian carpenter who meets Solomon during his years of captivity.
The movie is a brutal and unflinching look at the horrors this man and many others went through. It also features an incredible cast, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, and Lupita Nyong'o in an Oscar-winning role.
Se7en (1995) - 4.26
- Available on Netflix
Fresh off Legends, Pitt starred opposite Morgan Freeman in this sophisticated cat and mouse thriller probing a series of religiously themed murders based on the Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Envy, and Wrath.
Pitt’s on-screen chemistry with Freeman revealed their character’s motivations. Detective Mills (Pitt) wants to crack the case while Somerset (Freeman) ponders the motive. The film is more psychological than a police procedural challenging the audience right up until the movie's quite unhappy ending.
Fight Club (1999) - 4.26
- Available to rent on Apple TV
Edward Norton is an alienated office worker with severe insomnia until he crosses paths with Pitt’s Tyler Durden, an anarchist that Norton’s “narrator” aspires to be. Together, they form Flight Club, the only catharsis that relieves their mutual cynicism.
The dialogue is witty throughout, often between Durden and the narrator on the merits of free will and breaking free of society’s unwritten rules. But it all circles back to the fighting which they brand on a national scale, except Durden’s motives are more sinister. The film’s plot highlights the younger generations' struggle with stagnation, a lack of identity, and yearning for spiritual enlightenment, concepts that might be considered prophetic today. The ending is one of the most unique plot twists in movie history. It is considered by many fans to be one of the best movies of all time.
Inglorious Basterds (2009) - 4.28
- Available on TNT, TBS and DIRECTV
Here, Brad Pitt's Lt. Aldo Raine leads an all-Jewish American death squad in search of “Nazi scalps” against Christoph Waltz’s Col. Hans Landa, and by extension, the entire Nazi leadership. The Basterds and SS face off at a movie premiere in Paris at the height of World War II.
A recurring theme in Quentin Tarantino films is revenge except this one is a fantasy. The acting is superb. Waltz’s charisma tests Pitt’s infiltration skills (and broken Italian). Utilizing long continuous scenes reminiscent of old Hollywood filmmaking, the film’s plot reinvents history for dramatic effect while educating viewers with symbolism in the form of Landa, the embodiment of Nazism. Waltz received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.