Brad Pitt reportedly did most of his own stunts on John Wick, Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2 director David Leitch's Bullet Train movie. Leitch was announced as the helmer for the movie, which is based on the novel, Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka, in June last year. Cast announcements quickly followed, with Pitt taking the lead alongside a number of other familiar faces, including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Sandra Bullock, Zazie Beetz, Michael Shannon, Andrew Koji, Bryan Tyree Henry and Joey King, who posted a set photo from Bullet Train showing herself in costume.

Bullet Train might be the first time Leitch directs Pitt, but it's not their first time on set together. Leitch got his start in Hollywood as a stunt man, and doubled for Pitt in some of his biggest movies, including Fight Club. That history is the reason Pitt was in the running to play Cable in Deadpool 2, though he only ended up doing a short joke cameo as The Vanisger. Leitch's background has meant his movies are action-filled extravaganzas, and he's well known for encouraging his stars to do their own stunts, as seen with Keanu Reeves' gun-fu in John Wick, and Charlize Theron's transition to action icon in Atomic Blonde.

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Now, Vulture reveals that Pitt joins those Leitch-directed stars to make the jump to doing their own stunts. Bullet Train's stunt co-ordinator, Greg Rementer, who also worked with Leitch on Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw, says Pitt is like a "natural athlete," revealing he did almost all of his stunts on the movie. He also hails the work of the rest of the cast, but Pitt clearly stood out for how willing he was to put his 57-year-old body on the line. You can read Rementer's full comments below:

Brad did 95 percent of his physical stunts — the fighting. He’s like a natural-born athlete. He really got in there! Never have I ever done so many huge actors in one feature where all of them excelled at the physical movement of our training. So Brad, Brian, Michael Shannon, Hiroyuki Sonada, Andrew Koji — who was already a stud in terms of where he comes from with the show Warrior — all these actors put out some great action and did a lot of stuff.

Brad Pitt in Fight Club

The irony here, of course, is that Leitch used to do the heavy lifting for Pitt when it came to doing stunts as a young man and is now asking the star to put his body on the line in his late 50s. Not that Pitt looks that age, as shown by his shirtless scene as Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantion's Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, which proves he's still in incredible shape despite his advancing years. Clearly, Pitt still has the hunger to do what it takes for a role, even after winning his first acting Oscar for playing the aging stunt man.

Hopefully, the effort pays off. The premise of Bullet Train, which sees five hitmen boarding a train and finding out their jobs are all connected, is incredibly promising, and Leitch is the kind of director who can pull off the violent action in a contained setting. Production is currently wrapping up after starting in late 2020, and there is no release date yet, but expect to see some footage of Pitt's stunts in the first promo when it drops, likely later this year.

Next: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: How Old Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth Really Is

Source: Vulture