Editing Brad Pitt (section)

=== Early work (1987–1993) ===
While struggling to establish himself in [[Los Angeles]], Pitt took lessons from acting coach [[Roy London]].<ref name="fox film" /><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20009322,00.html |title=Brad Pitt: 'Strippers Changed My Life' |first=Tim|last=Nudd |date=January 22, 2007 |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date=October 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030023332/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20009322,00.html |archive-date=October 30, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> His acting career began in 1987, with uncredited parts in the films ''[[No Way Out (1987 film)|No Way Out]]'' (1987), ''[[No Man's Land (1987 film)|No Man's Land]]'' (1987) and ''[[Less than Zero (film)|Less than Zero]]'' (1987).<ref name="fox film" /><ref>{{cite web|title=No Way Out |url=http://movieclips.com/Rar7S-no-way-out-movie-videos/ |publisher=MovieClips |access-date=July 5, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601095002/http://movieclips.com/Rar7S-no-way-out-movie-videos/ |archive-date=June 1, 2013}}</ref> In May 1987, he made his television debut in a two-episode role on the [[NBC]] soap opera ''[[Another World (TV series)|Another World]]''.<ref>
[http://www.igs.net/~awhp/bradpitt.html "Brad Pitt on Another World"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213170128/http://www.igs.net/~awhp/bradpitt.html |date=February 13, 2012}} , ''The Another World Home Page''. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
</ref> In November of the same year, Pitt had a guest appearance on the [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]] sitcom ''[[Trial and Error (TV series)|Trial and Error]]''<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=70szDAAAQBAJ |title=Single Season Sitcoms of the 1980s: A Complete Guide |isbn=9781476623849 |last1=Leszczak |first1=Bob |date=May 16, 2016 |publisher=McFarland |access-date=October 25, 2020 |archive-date=December 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227040910/https://books.google.com/books?id=70szDAAAQBAJ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GqRWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT276 |title=Forgotten Laughs: An Episode Guide to 150 TV Sitcoms You Probably Never Saw |last1=Irvin |first1=Richard |year=2016 |access-date=May 29, 2020 |archive-date=January 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117032406/https://books.google.com/books?id=GqRWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT276#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] sitcom ''[[Growing Pains]]''.<ref name="bio channel">{{cite web |url=http://www.biography.com/articles/Brad-Pitt-9441989 |title=Brad Pitt Biography |publisher=[[The Biography Channel]] |page=1 |access-date=May 20, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517071215/http://www.biography.com/articles/Brad-Pitt-9441989 |archive-date=May 17, 2009}}</ref> He appeared in four episodes of the [[CBS]] primetime series ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'' between December 1987 and February 1988 as Randy, the boyfriend of [[Jenna Wade]]'s daughter Charlotte (played by [[Shalane McCall]]).<ref name="Scotland">{{cite news |url=http://scotlandonsunday.Scotsman.com/features/Would-the-real-Brad-Pitt.4535381.jp |title=Would the real Brad Pitt please stand up? |author=Garth Pierce |date=September 28, 2008 |work=[[Scotland on Sunday]] |access-date=May 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916001720/http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/features/Would-the-real-Brad-Pitt.4535381.jp |archive-date=September 16, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Later in 1988, Pitt made a guest appearance on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] police drama ''[[21 Jump Street]]''.<ref name="persico">{{cite news |author=Joyce J. Persico|title=Hollywood Hunk Brad Pitt Is Casual About Celebrity|date=September 29, 1995|work=[[The Times-Picayune]]|page=L34}}</ref> In the same year, the Yugoslavian–U.S. co-production ''[[The Dark Side of the Sun (film)|The Dark Side of the Sun]]'' (1988) was his first leading film role, starring as a young American taken by his family to the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] to find a remedy for a skin condition. The film was shelved at the outbreak of the [[Croatian War of Independence]], and was not released until 1997.<ref name="fox film" /> Pitt made two motion picture appearances in 1989: the first in a supporting role in the comedy ''[[Happy Together (1989 American film)|Happy Together]]''; the second a featured role in the horror film ''[[Cutting Class]]'', the first of Pitt's films to reach theaters.<ref name="bio channel" /> He made guest appearances on television series ''[[Head of the Class]]'', ''[[Freddy's Nightmares]]'', ''[[Thirtysomething]]'', and (for a second time) ''Growing Pains''.<ref name="Catalano1995">{{cite book|last=Catalano|first=Grace|url=https://archive.org/details/bradpitthotsexy0000cata/page/31|title=Brad Pitt: Hot and Sexy|date=June 1, 1995|publisher=[[Bantam Books]]|isbn=978-0-553-57015-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/bradpitthotsexy0000cata/page/31 31]|url-access=registration}}</ref>

Pitt was cast as Billy Canton, a drug addict who takes advantage of a young runaway (played by [[Juliette Lewis]]) in the 1990 NBC television movie ''[[Too Young to Die?]]'', the story of an abused teenager sentenced to death for a murder. [[Ken Tucker]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' wrote: "Pitt is a magnificent slimeball as her hoody boyfriend; looking and sounding like a malevolent [[John Mellencamp|John Cougar Mellencamp]], he's really scary."<ref name="too young">{{cite news|url=https://ew.com/article/1990/02/23/too-young-die/|title=Too Young to Die?|first=Ken|last=Tucker|date=February 23, 1990|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=October 14, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316190415/http://www.ew.com/article/1990/02/23/too-young-die|archive-date=March 16, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, Pitt co-starred in six episodes of the short-lived Fox drama ''[[Glory Days (1990 TV series)|Glory Days]]'' and took a supporting role in the [[HBO]] television film ''[[The Image (TV)|The Image]]''.<ref name="pitt interesting" /> His next appearance came in the 1991 film ''[[Across the Tracks]]''; Pitt portrayed Joe Maloney, a high school [[Running|runner]] with a criminal brother, played by [[Ricky Schroder|Rick Schroder]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/739/Across-the-Tracks/details |title=Across the Tracks&nbsp;– Cast, Crew, Director, and Awards |access-date=October 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216143414/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/739/Across-the-Tracks/details |archive-date=December 16, 2008 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The same year he featured in a [[Levi Strauss & Co.|Levi's]] jeans TV commercial based around the song  "[[20th Century Boy]]" which played in the background.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Handbook of Music and Advertising |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=457}}</ref>

After years of supporting roles in film and frequent television guest appearances, Pitt attracted wider recognition in his supporting role in [[Ridley Scott]]'s 1991 road film ''[[Thelma & Louise]]''.<ref name="pitt interesting">{{cite news|first=Russell|last=Smith|title=Brad Pitt Only Does Interesting Movie Roles|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/315705/BRAD-PITT-ONLY-DOES-INTERESTING-MOVIE-ROLES.html|date=October 19, 1993|work=[[Deseret News]]|page=EV6|quote=It was in 1991, when he hitched his ride with [[Geena Davis]] and [[Susan Sarandon]] in ''Thelma & Louise'', that Pitt's star began to twinkle in earnest.|access-date=May 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504142719/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/315705/BRAD-PITT-ONLY-DOES-INTERESTING-MOVIE-ROLES.html|archive-date=May 4, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He played J.D., a small-time criminal who befriends Thelma ([[Geena Davis]]). His love scene with Davis has been cited as the event that defined Pitt as a [[sex symbol]].<ref name="bio channel" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3687795.stm |title=Brad Pitt's epic journey |date=May 13, 2004 |work=BBC News |access-date=May 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406123623/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3687795.stm |archive-date=April 6, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> After ''Thelma & Louise'', Pitt starred in the 1991 film ''[[Johnny Suede]]'', a low-budget picture about an aspiring rock star,<ref>{{cite news |first=Ashley |last=Meeks |title=On DVD: "Walk Hard" hits the right notes; Pitt's "Johnny Suede" sizzles |date=September 24, 2008 |work=[[Las Cruces Sun-News]]}}</ref> and the 1992 live-action/animated fantasy film ''[[Cool World]]'',<ref name="bio channel" /> although neither furthered his career, having poor reviews and box office performance.<ref name="earnings" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1040378-cool_world/ |title=Cool World Movie Reviews, Pictures |access-date=March 13, 2010 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228201816/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1040378-cool_world/ |archive-date=February 28, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Pitt took on the role of Paul Maclean in the 1992 biographical film ''[[A River Runs Through It (film)|A River Runs Through It]]'', directed by [[Robert Redford]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9811/13/brad.pitt/ |title=Meet Brad Pitt: Actor talks traps, perfection, and honesty |author=Laurin Sydney |date=November 13, 1998 |publisher=[[CNN|CNN: Showbiz/Movies]] |access-date=November 15, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425062814/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9811/13/brad.pitt/ |archive-date=April 25, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> His portrayal of the character was described by ''[[People (magazine)|People]]''{{'}}s Janet Mock as a career-making performance,<ref name="river runs">{{cite news |first=Janet|last=Mock |url=http://www.people.com/people/brad_pitt/biography |title=Brad Pitt Biography |work=[[People (American magazine)|People]] |page=1 |access-date=February 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809103647/http://www.people.com/people/brad_pitt/biography |archive-date=August 9, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> proving that Pitt could be more than a "cowboy-hatted hunk."<ref name="giles">{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inglourious_basterds/news/1838607/total_recall_brad_pitts_best_movies |title=Total Recall: Brad Pitt's Best Movies |author=Jeff Giles |date=August 20, 2009 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=March 13, 2010 |page=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906113956/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inglourious_basterds/news/1838607/total_recall_brad_pitts_best_movies/ |archive-date=September 6, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> He has admitted to feeling under pressure when making the film<ref name="slipping four" /> and thought it was one of his "weakest performances&nbsp;... It's so weird that it ended up being the one that I got the most attention for."<ref name="slipping four" /> Pitt believed that he benefited from working with such a talented cast and crew. He compared working with Redford to playing tennis with a superior player, saying "when you play with somebody better than you, your game gets better."<ref name="river runs" /><ref name="giles" /> In 1993, Pitt reunited with Juliette Lewis for the road film ''[[Kalifornia]]''. He played Early Grayce, a [[serial killer]] and the abusive husband of Lewis' character, in a performance described by [[Peter Travers]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' as "outstanding, all boyish charm and then a snort that exudes pure menace."<ref name="kalifornia">{{cite magazine |title=Kalifornia: Review |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/kalifornia-19930903 |first=Peter|last=Travers |author-link=Peter Travers |date=December 8, 2000 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=October 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628214517/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/kalifornia-19930903 |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Pitt also garnered attention for a brief appearance in the cult hit ''[[True Romance]]'' as a stoner named Floyd, providing comic relief to the action film.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inglourious_basterds/news/1838607/2/total_recall_brad_pitts_best_movies |title=Total Recall: Brad Pitt's Best Movies |first=Jeff|last=Giles |date=August 20, 2009 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=March 13, 2010 |page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213112113/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inglourious_basterds/news/1838607/2/total_recall_brad_pitts_best_movies |archive-date=February 13, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> He capped the year by winning a [[National Association of Theatre Owners|ShoWest]] Award for Male Star of Tomorrow.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.showest.com/filmexpo/showest/general/past_winners.jsp |title=Showest Awards: Past Award Winners |publisher=[[National Association of Theatre Owners|ShoWest]] ([[Nielsen Company|Nielsen Business Media Film Group]]) |access-date=August 18, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517060340/http://www.showest.com/filmexpo/showest/general/past_winners.jsp |archive-date=May 17, 2008}}</ref>