By Tim Nasson
When one thinks of an image to go along with the name Brad Pitt the word middle-aged hardly crosses one’s mind. Instead, the thought of ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ may come to the fore. (And Pitt lays claim to being the only person named ‘Sexiest’ twice, 1994 and 2000, by People Magazine.) Believe it or not, though, Brad Pitt is no longer a boy. In addition to being one half of the poster couple for marriage, (the other half being his wife, “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston), Pitt has recently reached a milestone.
“Its amazing what an impending midlife crisis will do for you, really. It got me motivated. I just turned 40 in December,” says Pitt, sporting a crew cut, striped Polo shirt and khakis during lunch at The Essex House, in a suite overlooking Central Park South in NY.
“I see it, turning 40, as a real badge of honor. I really kind of enjoyed it. No more excuses, you know? I’m responsible. I can’t blame anything on my parents any longer. I’m responsible for my mistakes and my choices.”
Pitt’s latest choice, after a three-year hiatus from movies, is the role of golden boy and longhaired Achilles in Wolfgang Petersen’s (The Perfect Storm) retelling of Homer’s Iliad, the epic, effects-laden, $200 million Troy. Pitt co-stars with Erica Bana, (The Hulk), Orlando Bloom (Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean) and Hollywood icon, Peter O’Toole.
Most will think Pitt looks better in Troy than he did 15 years ago in his big-screen debut that catapulted him to fame; the hitchhiking thief who teaches Geena Davis about the joys of sex and robbing convenience stores in Thelma & Louise. I sat with Pitt the day the 2004 People Magazine’s ’50 Most Beautiful People’ issue hit the stands. He and his wife both appear, on the cover.
“It was brutal,” says Pitt, regarding attaining the chiseled chest and washboard abs that he sports in his latest film, which opened May 14. “And since I had to go around naked or at least shirtless for most of the film I had to at least look good,” he says. “I started working out about six months ahead of shooting. I got a guy who knew what he was talking about to help me get in shape. It was four meals a day of protein and low-carb food. It was quitting smoking. And it was two, three hours in the gym, getting to a point of absolute discomfort. After three months I finally started to enjoy it. And on top of that I had sword lessons,” he finishes with a grin. “But now that the movie is over I have stopped working out so much and have taken up smoking again. I guess I am a bad boy, or is it bad man, now that I am 40?”
All the fighting lessons in the world couldn’t prevent Pitt, who plays Achilles from, ironically, tearing his Achilles tendon, which put him out of commission for almost two months. “The shoot was plagued with problems,” he says. “Not only did I get hurt but instead of shooting in Morocco, which was the first choice, the producers decided on Mexico, due to the war in Iraq. No sooner did they build the sets in Los Cabos did one of the biggest hurricanes ever recorded there pass through and ruin them. And then a second hurricane during the reconstruction of the sets.”
Brad Pitt has a lot more to smile about than his great looks, fame and fortune. “Now that Jen is done with “Friends” we are going to try and have a family. The rehearsals are over. We can’t wait to begin a family.” However, don’t count on seeing the lovebirds on the big screen together. “The guest spot I did on “Friends” is probably all you’re going to see of Jen and me together on film. We would like to do a movie together but we are cautious. If you look through history, all the acting couples that make a movie together, the odds aren’t with us. If we did make a movie together it would really have to be delicately handpicked.”
The ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ and mid-western boy has come a long way in 15 years. For Thelma & Louise, the movie that put him on the map, Pitt earned a paltry $6,000. For Ocean’s Twelve, the sequel to the highly successful Ocean’s Eleven, Pitt will earn $30 million. “I am currently shooting the Oceans sequel in Chicago,” he says.
When I ask Pitt if, like his character Achilles, he thinks he is fated to be what he is, he says, “I don’t. I believe you make your day. You really gotta make your whole life. So much of it is perception. And this is the form that I built for myself, so I have to accept it and work within those confines.” What is Brad’s Achilles’ heel? “I’m not going there,” he says with a smirk. “I don’t know. It’s intimacy for all of us. Isn’t it pretty much for nine out of 10 people?” As for Pitt’s advice for co-star Orlando Bloom? “I told him to keep his pants on, which I certainly do not in this movie or most movies I am in.”
And about wearing a dress, or toga, which is the proper term, Pitt says, “It was very comfortable. And I didn’t wear anything underneath. Just like the Greeks in ancient times, who wore no underwear. I guess you could say they were freeballing. But when you think about it it’s a bit odd, because everything, your face, chest and arms are protected with this heavy armor, yet your vitals are hanging in the wind. That’s a kill shot, to me. I don’t understand that. A lot more soldiers would have died if they had thought about that, I’m sure.”
Brad Pitt Interview with Tim Nasson for Troy.
