A couple of weeks ago, we ran a piece detailing the insights of an anonymous crew member on the set of Boardwalk Empire about the series. The source leaked to the site 4Chan a few salacious tidbits, like the fact that Paz de la Heurta shaved her vagina on set, that the series may be ending after next year’s fifth season, and some information on Michael Pitt, who played Jimmy Darmody on the first two seasons of the show. Specifically, this source revealed that Pitt was written out of the show, not because it was the best thing for the series, but because the cast and crew on the show could no longer stand to be around him.
In part, the 4chan source revealed:
[Pitt was] late a lot (this costs production money), [he had] trouble remembering lines (they had to reshoot an entire scene because he couldn’t remember his lines…this costs production money), [was] constantly questioning his character’s storyline, tried to change dialogue a lot, would wander from the set, got into a little fist fight with William Forsythe during the Jimmy death scene, etc. They had plans for him and Angela’s character but they pretty much just got tired of him.
The source also revealed that many of Michael Pitt’s scenes had to be filmed with stand-ins, because he’d forget his lines, and they’d have to film Pitt’s side of entire scenes after the rest of the cast had left for the day.
About a week after we posted that piece, another guy who had worked with Michael Pitt in the past came forward with his own account. I won’t reveal his name or what movie they worked together on (because it was such a small cast and crew), but I was able to confirm the source had, in fact, worked with Pitt. The source basically confirmed what the 4chan source had revealed about Pitt: That he’s a giant, unprofessional jackass who treats everyone around him like crap.
Here’s what he wrote about his experience on a movie set with Pitt:
Randomly ended up reading your article on Boardwalk Empire ending, and the info about Michael Pitt made me smile. I don’t know who the informant from 4chan is, and I’ve never worked on Boardwalk Empire, but I did work with Pitt for 8 weeks on [redacted movie title] …
Anyway, what scriptfag says about Pitt’s behavior on set is most likely absolutely true, because it sounds so familiar! I remember days where they would have to send a driver to his house because he had overslept by hours. He constantly questioned [redacted director’s] direction, and would get in screaming matches with him and storm off set … He walked around with a scowl on his face always looking strung out or hung over, wouldn’t really talk to anyone, and often brought some chick with him to set that he’d spend all his time with (who I assume he was dating/f**king at the time.)
One moment that really stuck out for me was our last day of shooting. … This was a very small cast … that worked intimately with each other for 2 months. Now, I’d be lying to say we were palling around with the stars, but we had a cordial relationship with each other. After we wrapped, they broke out the champagne and food and we had a mini-wrap party on set. People were having a good time, taking photos, etc. I got my picture taken with [famous actor, famous actress. etc.], and [crew members]. Everyone was so chill; even A-listers like [famous actor] and [famous actress] were so down to earth and approachable. And then there was Michael Pitt. I asked him if I could take a picture with him and his response was to breathe out heavily and roll his eyes. Before he could even answer (although that reaction said it all) something diverted his attention and he walked away. It was the sh*tty icing on the shitty cake that was working with Michael Pitt.
Anyway, thought you’d like a little affirmation on Michael Pitt and his awful behavior. He’s a miserable twat, and I’m glad they refused to keep working with him on Boardwalk Empire. It’s reassuring to know that sometimes Hollywood dickheads do get some comeuppance.
Michael Pitt is a ridiculously talented actor, and yet despite that, he’s only been in one film since he was booted from the Boardwalk in 2011 (last year’s Seven Psychopaths, which is actually a fantastic film). He does, however, have several in the works, so either he’s straightened himself out, or filmmakers are reasoning that his talent is worth all the hassle.
