Brad Pitt’s career thus far has been a bit of a numbers game. “Seven” is one of several mid-90s films that established Pitt as a Hollywood superstar. Another, “Seven Years in Tibet,” got him banned from China. “Twelve Monkeys” netted the Oklahoma native his one and only Oscar nomination. “Ocean’s Twelve” is the sequel to the 2001 hit that went to eleven. “Less than Zero” is the first film Pitt ever appeared in (as an uncredited partygoer), and no doubt represents the number of people who find him unattractive. So pretty is Pitt, in fact, that he is the only actor to be named People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” two times. And finally, there’s the number three — that’s how many months, and hours a day, Pitt spent in the weight room pumping himself up to play Achilles in Wolfgang Petersen’s $175 epic, “Troy.”
QUESTION: You’re in the best shape of your life. How’d you get there?
BRAD PITT: It was a lot of hard work, with an impending mid-life crisis as a great motivator. I got with people who knew what they were doing, and I told them where I wanted to get to — where I had to get to — to play the ultimate warrior.
Q: Were you intimidated at all by the prospect of playing one of the most famous figures in history?
BP: Intimidating, no, but it’s exciting. It’s what we do. This one has so many things going on — fighting styles and physicality, emotional turmoil and a dialect. As you get down the road, these (types or roles) become more enticing.
Q: Achilles saw the Trojan War as a means of securing his legacy of greatness. Were you tempted to look at this role in a similar way? After all, the Academy loves to honor these sorts of films.
BP: No, because you never know about that going in, and it’s just confusing to start thinking that way. You attack the role in the same way you’d attack “Snatch.” It’s about the research going into it. When you’re actually shooting, you’re just anxious to get it out.
Q: Did you read “The Iliad” before making “Troy?”
BP: I actually read it, I’m proud to say, and it’s good — there’s a reason it’s still around. It’s one of the great stories amongst a handful of great stories … Homer was trying to erase the lines that separated my side from your side, and trying to adopt a greater humanity in a world of warring factions. And you look at (what’s happening today), and it doesn’t seem like so much has changed.
Q: What are your favorite war epics?
BP: I immediately go to “Lawrence of Arabia,” because of Peter O’Toole. And would you call “Apocalypse Now” an epic? Because that film, to me, is everything.
Q: Your wife, Jennifer Aniston, recently ended her run on “Friends,” one of the most successful television shows ever. Are you among the millions mourning the end of an era?
BP: Everything has to come to an end, but I’m going to miss it. I’m going to miss those Thursday nights. Fortunately, we still have syndication so I think I’ll be OK.
Q: Any plans to work with Jennifer in a movie?
BP: I’m sure at some point, but we have to be very careful. Couples (appearing) together in film usually is the kiss of death.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 14, 2004. Read the original PDF.