Top Dog Brad Pitt

Pitt was also a Sigma Chi man and still has a couple of good buddies from that time. "Although one thing bugs the shit out of me," he says. "These guys will come up and say [he extends his hand], 'Brother Pitt.' The secret handshake. It makes me cringe. I don't know you, all right? That was then! Learn something else now, all right?" He shakes his head. "Oh, God, now I'm going to get in trouble for this."

Pitt set out for Los Angeles two credits short of graduating. Why? "In my head, I was done with college," he says. "I was on to the next thing." That same inner voice told him that he should try his hand at an acting career, even though he had never acted in his life. After a couple of lean years (sitcom auditions, a role on Dallas) and a short-lived stint on the Hollywood club-hopping circuit, he hit pay dirt with his role as a sweet-talking drifter in 1991's Thelma and Louise. He made that part extraordinarily vivid, giving it the full force of his laconic charm. From that point on, he was a star. What most people forget is that in that film, Pitt was onscreen for barely 10 minutes.

A few years back, Pitt said that he felt he was a good actor but that he would never be a great one. "I'll always be a good, solid actor," he says. "I'll never let you down. But will I ever have one of those great performances?" He considers. "Well, I feel like I'm better than I was when I said that."

It's nighttime, and the crew (about 100 people) has just finished dinner. Now they will drift around. There is not a whole hell of a lot to do. There is a tiny recreation center that has a pool table attached to the cafeteria. Some of the more innovative crew members will play Strip Darts, but the game always kind of dissolves before things get really interesting. There is a guitar around somewhere for the occasional spontaneous sing-along. Or they can get drunk. After five months in Argentina and atleast another month in Canada, most of the crew is just itchin' to go home.

Pitt has headed off to his trailer. He has told you to come by before you leave. "I'll give you my number, in case you need anything else," he says. It's time to go, and the van guy awaits, so you start for the trailer. It looks dwarfed by the enormous, starry Canadian sky. A soft yellow light shines from the trailer's windows, and the faint, wispy harmonies of a Shawn Colvin CD can just barely be heard. You think of what Pitt said earlier about enjoying this remote part of the globe. "I think if it wasn't for family and Gwennie and Gwennie's family and a couple of good friends," he says, "I could have gone this route."

You decide to let him have a little peace. "I'm ready," you tell the van guy.

"We have to drive slowly," he says. "Been a lot of caribou around here lately runnin' out in the road."

Great.

[From Issue 757 — April 3, 1997]