Notorious for his killer looks and outstanding acting ability, Brad Pitt is a phenomenal actor who has established himself as one of the biggest names in the movie industry. And part of his fame goes to his dedication to his craft and versatility, which has allowed him to portray a vast array of roles, ranging from action and drama to romance and comedy. When the actor takes on a role, he tends to do an extensive deep-dive, delving into his character.
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Brad Pitt
Due to his immense and consistent success as an actor, Brad Pitt has done some of the most praise-worthy and box office hit films such as Fight Club, Ocean’s Eleven, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and many more. However, when the Fury actor collaborated with Harrison Ford for the 1997 film, The Devil’s Own, Pitt was grossly underpaid and their pay had a difference of $8 million, which was absurd, considering the film was a box office disaster.
The Absurd Pay Difference Between Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt
When it comes to acting, both Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt are considered to be exceptional talents. Both portray their characters in an authentic manner that resonates with the viewers, someone they could relate to, and adding their charismatic personalities make them extremely successful. As a result, when the two actors collaborated on The Devil’s Own, everyone expected that the film would break records and become one of the best movies in the history of cinema.
Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt
The two actors worked with each other, but the differences between their pay were massive, it was reported that The Indiana Jones actor was paid a massive paycheck worth $20 million, whereas the Bullet Train actor was criminally underpaid, giving him $12 million, creating a massive difference of $8 million in terms of salary between the two actors.
Hiring two major actors means having two massive egos on the same set, and having a massive difference in their paychecks created a rift between the two, as the two would fight tooth and nail to play the main character in the film.
As if the massive pay difference and the fight to play the main character in the film was not enough, Pitt criticized the 1997 film, and rumors suggest he almost left it before he was threatened with legal troubles. However, during an exclusive interview with Far Out Magazine, Brad Pitt called The Devil’s Own “a disaster” and it was the worst film that he has worked on in his entire career, as the production was “irresponsible.”
“The most irresponsible bit of filmmaking — if you can even call it that — that I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t believe it.”
Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt on the set of The Devil’s Own
Moreover, Pitt stated the script which convinced him to be a part of the film was also changed, which allegedly had a darker feel than the script they later used.
“The script that I had loved was gone,” Pitt added, “I guess people just had different visions and you can’t argue with that. But then I wanted out and the studio head said, ‘All right, we’ll let you out, but it’ll be $63 million for starters.’”
The constant changes in the script made Brad Pitt quite unhappy, as he majorly developed the script of the 1997 film. As a result, the two actors would constantly clash on the set of The Devil’s Own.
Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford Would Clash on The Set of The Devil’s Own
Recently, during an exclusive interview with Esquire in 2023, Harrison Ford shared how Brad Pitt and he constantly clashed on the sets of the film, as they would frequently argue for the director of the film until they met Alan Pakula.
“Brad developed the script. Then they offered me the part. I saved my comments about the character and the construction of the thing — I admired Brad.”
“But we couldn’t agree on a director until we came to Alan Pakula, who I had worked with before but Brad had not. Brad had this complicated character, and I wanted a complication on my side so that it wasn’t just a good-and-evil battle.”
Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt
Harrison Ford continued that after they agreed on hiring Pakula, they would constantly argue about the changes made in the script, which both of them had different ideas for, but Pitt felt that Ford wasimposing his “point of view” in the film.
“I worked with a writer — but then all the sudden we’re shooting and we didn’t have a script that Brad and I agreed on. Each of us had different ideas about it. I understand why he wanted to stay with his point of view, and I wanted to stay with my point of view—or I was imposing my point of view, and it’s fair to say that that’s what Brad felt.”
As a result of the constant clashes between the two actors, and the regular changes made in the script of the 1997 film, the film became a box office disaster, collecting only $140.9 million worldwide, despite having a massive budget of $90 million for the film.
A voracious reader and a wordsmith at heart. Tushar is a student of Linguistics, who's always on the lookout for a good book or a captivating story. He has a passion for literature that runs deep and loves nothing more than getting lost in a novel for hours on end. When he isn't reading, you'll find him scribbling down his thoughts and musings, always eager to capture the beauty of language.
