Brad Pitt, Oscar winner, is one of the most famous celebrities today. Playing in many films since the 1990s, Pitt won his first Oscar earlier this year for his role in Once upon a time in Hollywood.
Playing a wide range of characters over the years, Pitt stepped in to play a role following the sudden death of actor Heath Ledger.
Brad Pitt refuses a lead role
In 2005, director Gus Van Zant directed the revolutionary film brokeback mountain, which told the love story of rodeo cowboy Jack Twist and the hand of ranch Ennis Del Mar. When it came time to launch the film, Van Zant was getting a lot of rejections from the A-listers he had. approaches.
“Nobody wanted to do it,” Van Sant admitted, as IndieWire reported. “I was working on it and I felt like we needed a really strong cast, like a famous cast. It did not work.
Petitioning some of today’s most famous actors, including Pitt, the director revealed Fight Club star was one of the celebrities who rejected him.
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“I asked the usual suspects … Brad Pitt, Matt Damon,” he said. “They all said no.”
the Goodwill hunting The director was able to recruit Heath Ledger as Ennis and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack, but Van Sant left the project with Ang Lee as director. brokeback mountain won eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Ledger, and Best Supporting Actor for Gyllenhaal. Lee won the Best Director award for his work on the film.
The tragic death of Heath Ledger
Ledger’s performance in brokeback mountain earned him enormous criticism. The actor began a romance with co-star Michelle Williams while working on the film, with the couple soon welcoming daughter Matilda in October 2005. The two separated in 2007.
At the time, Ledger was immersed in his role as Joker in the 2008 film The black Knight. Some have speculated that the depiction of such a disturbed character affects the mental state of the actor, but his sister Kate did not agree.
“Honestly, it was the complete opposite,” said Kate, according to CinemaBlend. “He had an amazing sense of humor, and I guess only his close family and friends really knew that. But he was having fun. He was not depressed by the Joker.
Unfortunately, Ledger died of a prescription drug overdose in January 2008 when The black Knight was in post-production. He was 28 years old.
Plan B producer steps in for Heath Ledger
In the 2011 film by Terence Malick The tree of life, Ledger was to portray a stern father in the 1950s in the deeply introspective film. Through his production company Plan B, Pitt was involved in the project as a producer. the Ad Astra star ended up playing the patriarchal character in the absence of Ledger.
“His death was a great loss,” said Pitt, praising the brokeback mountain star, depending on the weather. “Heath was one of the younger guys who was on the right track, who taught me something.
Congratulating Ledger on his previous role choices, Pitt gave credit to the Oscar nominee as well as another actor well known for their selectivity in their careers.
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“You saw him come in what he had done, where he had found a line – the way [Ryan] Gosling finds a line – against the grain, where the pressure is to make the film type a lot more disposable, ”Pitt said. “These guys are smart enough to know there is something better to do.”
While The tree of life open to mixed reviews, Pitt was happy to be part of a project that inspired conversation. “I much prefer that some people like and others don’t understand,” he says. “As long as he opens a discussion.”
