How is Brad Pitt doing? Better than ever.
By Destiny Duprey — Written on Mar 21, 2020
If you don't know the name Brad Pitt, you probably live under a rock. But if you have seen Fight Club maybe a few hundred times, you are in the right place!
William Bradley Pitt —known to all of us simply as legendary heartthrob, Brad Pitt — is an American actor and producer who has a lengthy and impressive resume. Born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Pitt didn't start out famous — he started his career in the film industry in college, after having a change of heart and dropping out of school just two credits shy of graduating from the University of Missouri. Brad Pitt headed straight to Los Angeles, California, at the age of 24, where he spent his first couple of months as a chauffer and delivering refrigerators while trying to figure out how to become an actor.
After he enrolled in an acting class, his scene partner asked if he would accompany her and her agent for an audition. The agent decided to sign Brad Pitt and his acting career skyrocketed almost immediately.
Brad Pitt's first couple of appearances were in television series such as Dallas, Growing Pains, and Glory Days. In 1989, Pitt made his big day debut in the horror film Cutting Class. Soon after, he landed a role in the film Across The Tracks, which gave him the attention to be picked up for Thelma and Louise. Although he received a short bit of screen time in this film, it was enough for everyone to rewind their VCR's and pause those moments where the (a little older than) teenage heartthrob was present.
Pitt went on to grab numerous acting roles, but one of the biggest was the adaptation of Interview With the Vampire, where he worked alongside Tom Cruise.
Brad Pitt has won multiple awards throughout his acting career, such as Golden Globes, Emmy awards, as well as many nominations. Pitt has a producing company called "Plan B Entertainment," and he is a global activist who advocates for stem-cell research, poverty, and AIDS. Pitt is also one of the founders of "Not On Our Watch" — an organization that raises global awareness to violations of human rights in countries like Darfur and others.
Brad Pitt is easily one of the most recognizable actors in Hollywood, even to this day, and continues to be cast in major motion pictures. A truly gifted actor, take a look at our collection of some of the best Brad Pitt quotes from movies and interviews to understand his thoughts on what it's like to be Hollywood's most popular eye candy, the acting industry — and a few of his thoughtful quotes about life and happiness.
1. Be the shark.
“By nature, I keep moving, man. My theory is, be the shark. You’ve just got to keep moving. You can’t stop.”— Brad Pitt
2. Crack the code.
“I find all of my performances come down to mathematics in a sense – how do you approach the problem of this character? Sometimes I crack that problem, sometimes I don’t.”— Brad Pitt
3. We love an aesthetic king.
“When I received my first paycheck from my now known day job, I spent it on a period Craftsman chair and a Frank Lloyd Wright-wannabe lamp. With my second paycheck, I bought a stereo.”— Brad Pitt
4. What's your next move, Brad Pitt?
"I always liked those moments of epiphany, when you have the next destination."— Brad Pitt
5. Success is a beast.
“Success is a beast. And it actually puts the emphasis on the wrong thing. You get away with more instead of looking within.”— Brad Pitt
6. Easy for Brad Pitt to say.
"Heartthrobs are a dime a dozen."— Brad Pitt
7. He believes in setting an example.
"Actions speak louder than words."— Brad Pitt
8. Celebrate the hard times.
“It’s those difficult times that inform the next wonderful time, and it’s a series of trade-offs, of events, of wins and losses.”— Brad Pitt
9. Learning lessons.
“You must lose everything in order to gain anything.”— Brad Pitt
10. Without conflict, there is no meaning.
“Happiness is overrated. There has to be conflict in life.”— Brad Pitt
11. You hate to see it.
“I’m one of those people you hate because of genetics. It’s the truth.”— Brad Pitt
12. Family is everything to Brad Pitt.
“At the end of the day if my family needs me or if they need anything, I’m there for them.”— Brad Pitt
13. Who do you love?
“I had a friend who worked at a hospice, and he said people in their final moments don’t discuss their successes, awards or what books they wrote or what they accomplished. They only talk about their loves and their regrets, and I think that’s very telling.”— Brad Pitt
14. Do you concentrate on their looks?
“When you see a person, do you just concentrate on their looks? It’s just a first impression. Then there’s someone who doesn’t catch your eye immediately, but you talk to them and they become the most beautiful thing in the world. The greatest actors aren’t what you would call beautiful sex symbols.”— Brad Pitt
15. Love yourself.
“Depression is not interesting to watch”— Brad Pitt
16. It's about the value of your time.
“What’s valuable to me has become clearer as I’ve got older. To me, it’s about the value of your time and your day and the value of the people you spend it with.”— Brad Pitt
17. A profound love for storytelling.
“I grew up in Oklahoma and Missouri, and I just loved film. My folks would take us to the drive-in on summer nights, and we’d sit on the hood of the car. I just had this profound love for storytelling.”— Brad Pitt
18. True feelings.
“Where I grew up, we started out in Oklahoma and then moved to Missouri, it was considered hubris to talk about yourself. And the downside of that was that ideas rarely got exchanged, or true feelings.”— Brad Pitt
19. There are a lot of views to see.
“I always knew I was going somewhere – going out. I just knew. I just knew. I just knew there were a lot more points of view out there.”— Brad Pitt
20. The war within.
“I’ve always been at war with myself, for right or wrong. I’ve grown quite comfortable with being at war.”— Brad Pitt
21. Your dad is your biggest fan.
“With sons and fathers, there’s an inexplicable connection and imprint that your father leaves on you.”— Brad Pitt
22. Adventures begin here.
“I have an adventure every morning.”— Brad Pitt
23. Young guys and girls, listen up.
“I tell young guys, don’t make choices because somebody else is telling you it’s good from a career maintenance perspective.”— Brad Pitt
24. Big changes are a success!
"My life has been about big changes."— Brad Pitt
25. Train hard or die trying.
“My training is documented on film.”— Brad Pitt
26. Stay true to you!
“I’m satisfied with making true choices.”— Brad Pitt
27. Be honest with who you are.
“I have a hard time with morals. All I know is what feels right, what’s more important to me is being honest about who you are. Morals I get a little hung up on.”— Brad Pitt
28. Find yourself through your art.
“I grew up on certain movies, particular movies that said something to me as a kid from Missouri, movies that showed me places I’d yet traveled, or different cultures, or explained something, or said something in a better way than I could ever say. I wanted to find the movies like that.”— Brad Pitt
29. Art speaks louder than words.
“My affliction has been… I can make something or draw something or design something better than I can explain it.”— Brad Pitt
30. That is enough for me.
“Just the fact that there is an unknown (in regards to death) and something greater, can bring a feeling of peace. That’s enough for me.”— Brad Pitt
31. Dedicate your time to the people that put in the same effort for you.
“When you first get opportunities, suddenly you get surrounded by a lot of people who want to make money off you but also are there to help. But they start telling you so much what you need to be and what you need to do to maintain some idea of career maintenance.”— Brad Pitt
32. Appreciate your bosses!
“I would say that the directors that I’ve liked the most are all curious in mature – curious thinkers. They’re all big questioners, I would say, first and foremost.”— Brad Pitt
33. Stay in your lane.
“I get enraged when people start telling other people how to live their lives.”— Brad Pitt
34. One way ticket to wherever Brad is going, please!
“I don’t feel restless, I just like to travel.”— Brad Pitt
35. The world is a tough place.
“The latitude and longitudinal lines of where you are born determine your opportunity in life, and it’s not equal. We may have been created equal, but we’re not born equal. It’s a lot to do with luck and you have to pass that on.”— Brad Pitt
36. Embrace change.
“I’ve been no stranger to change.”— Brad Pitt
37. Run towards success.
“You want to stake your own claim.”— Brad Pitt
38. Less talk, more doing.
“In Missouri, where I come from, we don’t talk about what we do, we just do it. If we talk about it, it’s seen as bragging.”— Brad Pitt
39. According to Brad Pitt, you shouldn't fear growing old.
"Once you get older, you get a little closer to yourself, intimate."— Brad Pitt
40. Let the world be your teacher.
“Seeing the world is the best education you can get. You see sorrow, and you also see the great spirit and will to survive.”— Brad Pitt
41. Who are you, really?
“We’re mysteries to ourselves.”— Brad Pitt
42. Storytelling reminds us we're the same.
“We’re so complex; we’re mysteries to ourselves; we’re difficult for each other. And then storytelling reminds us that we’re all the same”— Brad Pitt
43. You can't be different for different's sake.
“You can’t be different for different’s sake, and this doesn’t always work, but you have to separate yourself from the normal read. Of course, it has to be truthful. If it’s not truthful, don’t waste your time.”— Brad Pitt
44. Dad goals.
“My father came from a very poor background, but I was very fortunate in the sense that we were never in need. My dad was determined to make sure that we didn’t want for things. He wanted to give us more opportunity than he had, a better shot at a better life.”— Brad Pitt
45. Keep the family and friends close.
“I have very few friends. I have a handful of close friends, and I have my family, and I haven’t known life to be any happier.”— Brad Pitt
46. Quality over quantity.
“I am obsessively bent on quality – to an unhealthy degree”— Brad Pitt
47. I'd rather be a loner.
“I’m a bit of a loner, you know? I’m more quiet by nature. And coming from, you know, hillbilly country, I’m probably more reserved”— Brad Pitt
48. What will your next chapter be like?
“There are no Hallmark cards that define the next chapter, or value of a history together"— Brad Pitt
49. "No" is the most powerful word.
"I’m actually very snobbish about directors. I have to say no all the time. No is the most powerful word in our business. You’ve got to protect yourself.”— Brad Pitt
50. He's just like everyone else.
“In some ways, I’m still a kid from Missouri and Oklahoma, and I’m trying to find my way.”— Brad Pitt
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Destiny Duprey is a writer who covers music, self-care, and religion.