Feature: Movie Idols profile

Brad Pitt revisited

Although he was one of our very first Movie Idols way back in 1997, Brad Pitt's career has since changed direction, something Anwar Brett celebrates here
Our cover image (far right) folds out into a 33 x 23” colour poster!

So much has happened to Brad Pitt in the last five years. The blond-haired heartthrob has matured from appealing young lead to bona fide movie star, securing his status as one of Hollywood's most popular actors with a succession of winning roles.

He has also experienced upheavals in his personal life, amicably breaking off his engagement to Gwyneth Paltrow in 1997, and later beginning a romance with Friends star Jennifer Aniston that led to a marriage in July 2000. It's as if these past few years have been a watershed for the boyishly handsome Pitt, the chance to put behind him his wilder days while accepting the responsibilities and happiness of married life.

1997 was the year that he was rewarded for his scene-stealing performance in Twelve Monkeys with a well-deserved Oscar nomination. He was not to win, but this acclamation by his peers served as a reminder that he was a more talented and versatile actor than some gave him credit for.

As if conscious that mainstream studio efforts (such as Meet Joe Black) were falling short of expectation at the box-office, Pitt soon took a bold step in his choice of follow-up roles. Fight Club was a startling satire on modern male masculinity, and featured Pitt and Edward Norton as unlikely allies in a bizarre movement to reclaim their manhood. And after all the on-screen fisticuffs, Pitt put these skills to further use on Snatch, Guy Ritchie's next film.

Despite his superstar status, Pitt fitted in well with Ritchie's growing repertory, joining in with the off-set card games and proving the equal of his barely coherent ‘pikey' accent for his role as a gypsy bareknuckle boxing champ. "That's the kind of fellow he is" said co-star Vinnie Jones. "Everyone knows him as a superstar, but we know him as one of the boys."

That may, in the end, be as good a definition of screen stardom as any...

by Anwar Brett

Each issue of Movie Idols focuses on a major star, with reviews of all of their film roles and a career profile. Read the full profile alongside 15 full-colour photos of Brad in this issue:
Movie Idols #26

Front Cover & Poster © PA Photos, film still © Columbia Tristar
Feature © Visual Imagination 2002. Not for reproduction

Taken from

Movie Idols #26
Brad Pitt 2 2002
ships from Feb 21 2002
News-stand Price
UK £2.50 / US $3.99

Buy it now!

VI DIRECT
Stores Info

You can order any of
our magazines via this
secure service.
To buy this issue:

To SUBSCRIBE to
MOVIE IDOLS, use these
links to our stores: