Brad Pitt has excelled in Hollywood like only a few other celebrities. Pitt has appeared in movies across genres and made his mark as an actor in his decade-spanning career. The actor has received several accolades in his career, including an Oscar for his performance in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Pitt has worked with director David Fincher in three movies which include Seven, Fight Club, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The first two have an astonishing fanbase and are counted as some of the most remarkable thrillers of all time, while The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a thrilling and bizarre experience to have.
Brad Pitt Almost Left David Fincher’s Film
To begin with, it’s not easy to work with David Fincher. Many actors have expressed their discomfort working with the director as he is obsessed with perfection and would take a thousand takes if necessary. But that was not the case with Brad Pitt after being cast as one of the leads in his 1995 movie, Seven. But two weeks prior to the shooting schedule, Pitt trembled with self-doubt. Of course, the script was not easy, the very nature of the movie was not easy, and he expressed his concern to the director. Fincher once revealed (via Esquire),
“Two weeks before he starts shooting any given project, Brad calls and says, ‘I’ve betrayed you. You have the wrong guy. Here’s your opportunity to get rid of me now.’ Then he moves on. He’s not neurotic. He doesn’t second-guess himself. He just needs to get that out of his system.”
Pitt has been performing roles since his onscreen movie debut in the 1987 film No Way Out and has collected bits and pieces of the experience of acting. But Seven had shaken his confidence and he almost left the movie.
David Fincher on Brad Pitt’s Anxiety Before Shooting Seven
Fincher’s Seven was a huge success, both critically and at the box office, grossing over $327.3 million worldwide. However, Pitt’s anxiety somewhat influenced his character in the movie. “Three weeks into Seven, we needed security,” Fincher said.
“I’ve been in situations with Brad where we go out for pizza and he has sunglasses on and a beard and a scarf and a baseball cap, and seven minutes later we can’t go out the door. All that was starting on Seven, and it wasn’t easy. There’s a madness that surrounds you. And you’re trying to navigate the world and to navigate your adult life, and there’s all these other things vying for your attention.”
Understandably, Seven was a difficult project, but Pitt’s anxiety was a bit surprising to the director. “In Seven, Brad was very anxious to go in and tear it up,” Fincher said. He wasn’t all that comfortable, “and it worked amazingly for what the character of Mills needed to be,” he added. Of course, Pitt was not a born actor or has acted since his childhood but he has forged himself into the status he is in now. Seven received an Oscar nomination at the 68th Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and the movie also received several other accolades.
Source: Esquire
