Brad Pitt has consistently delivered acclaimed performances throughout his career dating back to 1987 as Randy on TV’s The Lost City of D slated for early 2022.
He recently demonstrated flexibility as a producer for both film and television with 2018’s biopic Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood.
Updated on August 2nd, 2022 by Colin McCormick: With Brad Pitt returning to the movies with the action thriller Bullet Train, many fans will be looking back over the actor's incredible career and at his most acclaimed movies. From smaller roles that stood out to some of the parts that helped make him a Hollywood icon, there are so many more great movies to explore in Pitt's career that highlight his immense talent.
Troy (2004) - 3.18
- Available on Netflix
Derived from Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, Wolfgang Petersen's depiction of the Helen of Troy tale from Greek mythology casts Pitt as legendary warrior Achilles recounting his campaign to conquer the supposedly impenetrable city during the Trojan War.
From a script by David Benioff of Game of Thrones, the story takes the poem’s claim of a decade-long struggle and concocts an invasion resembling D-Day with swords and spears creating a stereotypical war movie that feels like a weekend excursion.
Interview With The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) - 3.43
- Available on Paramount+, Roku and Hoopla
Based on the late Anne Rice’s best-selling novel, Interview with a Vampire finds Pitt as Louis de Pointe du Lac, a New Orleans socialite who recounts his search for other creatures of the night to a curious journalist (Christian Slater).
Co-starring Tom Cruise and a young Kirsten Dunst, this neo-noir horror-thriller checks off all the vampire tropes from thirst for blood to the need to avoid light. Looking back on recent history, such as True Blood and the Twilight franchise, the movie revived the genre and paved the way for many successful vampire stories on big and small screens.
Legends Of The Fall (1994) - 3.55
- Available on Starz and DIRECTV
From World War I through Prohibition, three brothers named Ludlow fall in love with Susannah (Julia Ormond) in early 20th century Montana.
The emotionally charged melodrama follows Pitt’s Tristan as he navigates through crises of love and faith. Pitt’s performance establishes Tristan in contrast to his family who clings to their sense of honor while struggling with self-confidence. Ultimately, Tristan prefers his independence and bears the consequences. With rave reviews for his performance, the film opened the floodgates for Pitt for future leading roles.
Moneyball (2011) - 3.80
- Available on Fubo TV, Hulu, AMC+, Roku and DIRECTV
Pitt earned an Oscar nomination for his role in sports movie based on a true story. Pitt plays Billy Beane, the manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team who discovers a new way of using mathematics to build a winning team that can compete with the richer teams.
Even if the subject matter of baseball and math might not sound appealing to a lot of people, Moneyball is an entertaining and fascinating sports story.
12 Monkeys (1995) - 3.80
- Available on Max Go
In this blend of Hitchcockian suspense and time-travel science fiction, Pitt portrays Jeffery Goines, the man suspected of unleashing a plague that decimated Earth's population as the leader of the mysterious Army of the 12 Monkeys.
The time-shifting aspect lays the groundwork for the final twist that allows everything to come full circle. Pitt captured a Golden Globe and his first Oscar nomination for his performance, solidifying his status as a top Hollywood star.
Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood (2019) - 3.80
- Available on Fubo TV and DIRECTV
In this period piece from Quentin Tarantino, Pitt is a stunt actor named Cliff Booth laboring in 1960s Tinseltown who encounters of the Charles Manson family.
In an examination of rich vs poor, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a has-been actor whose career is over yet still enjoys celebrity fringe benefits while Booth remains poor and takes it in stride. The nostalgia of the counterculture movement gives younger viewers a glimpse into the world their parents and grandparents lived through. Pitt received a Best ing Actor Academy Award for his performance.
Ocean's Eleven (2001) - 3.81
- Available on HBO Max and Peacock
Pitt and George Clooney conspire with nine other criminals and con artists to engineer the ultimate heist with a potential $150 million payday.
Reinventing the Rat Pack movie from the 1960s, remake that is better than the original. The plot’s intrigue is derived from a group of bandits targeting a swindling casino mogul (Andy Garcia) and accomplishing their objective behind the scenes yet in your face. It makes the viewer root for the “bad guys” and laugh about it. The film’s ensemble cast included the late comedians Bernie Mac and Carl Reiner.
True Romance (1993) - 3.88
- Available to rent on Apple TV
Long before collaborating with Quentin Tarantino in Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pitt took a small role in the Tarantino-written True Romance. The movie follows two lovers who find themselves hunted by gangsters after accidentally stealing a suitcase of drugs.
Pitt has a small but hilarious role as a stoner roommate who sits around doing nothing as chaos ensues. The movie features Tarantino's distinct dialogue and wild violence captured wonderfully by director Tony Scott. It is also a hugely impressive cast with so many stand-out performances.
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007) - 3.93
- Available on Hoopla
Pitt took on the role of the legendary outlaw Jesse James in a western that dismantled the legend of this man in some interesting ways. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford focuses on the young man who became part of James' gang only to eventually be the one to kill him.
The movie is a gorgeous-looking bit of filmmaking and the story is given a haunting quality. Casey Affleck gives a terrific performance as Ford, and Pitt is excellent as the complicated icon of American history.
Snatch (2000) - 3.93
- Available on Netflix
In this British ensemble comedy, Pitt is Mickey, an incoherent Irish traveler, caught in a web of deception and violence that involves a diamond in the wind pursued by multiple criminal parties.
The plot’s goofiness is its asset coupled with crisp dialogue from writer-director Guy Ritchie. It features many subtle gags like a dog who swallows the diamond setting each party on a collision course attempting the capture it. The cast is as random as its characters with Jason Statham and Benicio Del Toro co-starring.
