Brad Pitt’s having the kind of year that makes one wonder if we’re back in the 1990s. Well, that’s an exaggeration, but his acting’s finally earning him some long-overdue acclaim in addition to selling all the tickets. Much of this sentiment, of course, is due to his return to the Tarantino universe in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood as Cliff Booth, whose ambiguous air sparked controversy and theories that folks will hash out for years to come. In addition, Pitt’s (finally) doing a leading-man-in-space role for James Grey’s Ad Astra. Does this mean that we’re seeing a Pittaissance and can expect much more of him in high-profile movies?
Nope. Pitt broke the news that this won’t be the case during a profile in the New York Times. He’s obviously been producing through his Plan B company, which guided 12 Years A Slave to Best Picture Oscar glory in 2012, and it sounds like moving behind the camera is where he’d like to be going forward. The Meet Joe Black star also has other things that he’d like to do:
“It’ll be fewer and farther in between for me, just because I have other things I want to do now. When you feel like you’ve finally got your arms around something, then it’s time to go get your arms around something else.”
This hasn’t exactly been an overnight decision. A month ago, Pitt told GQ Australia that he feels that acting is “a younger man’s game,” and he’ll “move on naturally.” He later spoke to People at the Hollywood LA premiere and doubled down on that sentiment: “I think that one day I’ll just wake up and organically it’ll be done,” he explained. “Maybe I won’t wake up and that’s why it’ll be done.”
There’s plenty more of the New York Times profile to absorb, including a portion where writer Kyle Buchanan begins discussing how Tarantino repurposed The Hateful Eight as a three-part series for Netflix. He asks Pitt about reports that Tarantino has discussed doing the same for Hollywood. Pitt confirms that these talks have taken place (in the vein of multiple episodes including footage that was previously cut) while adding, “It’s a pretty arousing idea.” Indeed.
(Via New York Times & People)
