Brad Pitt is a decorated actor and film producer who is undeniably one of Hollywood’s most popular and celebrated movie stars. His career spans almost 35 years and during that brilliant period, the artist starred in iconic films such as Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, Seven and The ocean is 11 trilogy (among countless others). Pitt has won numerous accolades, including two Oscars, an Emmy Award, and two Golden Globes, and his place in the entertainment business remains unrivaled.
Known for playing characters like Tyler Durden, Benjamin Button, and Louis de Pointe du Lac, it’s safe to say that Pitt has dominated every role he’s given. But even movie stars of his caliber have faced career setbacks, passing on memorable roles or simply being turned down for it. Let’s dig into some of the biggest roles Brad Pitt didn’t get or turn down.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (not received)
Brad Pitt was a serious contender to take on the iconic role of the eccentric Willy Wonka in the 2005 adaptation of Tim Burton’s Roald Dahl classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factorygoing up against a slew of other big-name actors vying for the part, including Bill Murray, Michael Jackson, Jim Carrey, Michael Keaton, and of course, Johnny Depp.
Pitt’s production company Plan B Entertainment helped finance the film, and the actor auditioned for the lead role, but was ultimately turned down in favor of Depp, Burton’s longtime collaborator. Although the studio was excited about the prospect of Pitt playing the lead role, Burton knew all along that Depp was the only actor he wanted in the part.
Jason Bourne (rejected)
Matt Damon became a certified action superstar when he took on the thrilling role of former CIA assassin Jason Bourne, but the face of the franchise could have been very different if Brad Pitt had accepted the role. The Hollywood heavy hitter was the first actor considered to play Bourne, and he was even offered the part directly by The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman. However, Pitt had scheduling conflicts due to his commitment to Tony’s Scott’s Spy game and was forced to pass on the film. Pitt co-starred in the fellow action thriller alongside Robert Redford, while Damon spearheaded the hit series across four episodes.
Neo in The Matrix (rejected)
Touted as one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, the critically acclaimed blockbuster from the Wachowskis The Matrix Keanu Reeves is famous as cybercriminal and expert computer hacker Neo, with the beloved actor sharing the screen with Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss. While Will Smith is now known to have passed on the role, Pitt was another major A-list actor whose name was in the running to headline the groundbreaking film.
When both he and Val Kilmer turned down Neo, the studio went with Reeves, who impressed the filmmakers with his innate understanding of the concept and subject matter. Pitt officially confirmed turning down the role when he joked about the decision in 2021, after admitting, “I kept going The Matrix. I took the red pill. That’s the only one I mention… I wasn’t offered two or three. Just the first one, just to clarify that.”
Jack Dawson in Titanic (didn’t get it)
Director James Cameron’s masterpiece about an epic romantic disaster Titanic skyrocketed sensationally leads Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet to superstardom and became the first film to cross the billion dollar mark at the box office. Fans around the world fell head over heels for DiCaprio’s charming third-class passenger Jack Dawson, who against all odds develops a passionate romance with first-class Rose DeWitt Bukater on the doomed ocean liner.
Before taking on the coveted role, DiCaprio watched many of Hollywood’s top leads, including Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey, Johnny Depp, and of course, Pitt himself. The legendary director felt the actors were too old to play the role of a 20-year-old, and it went to DiCaprio instead; Titanic went on to win 11 Academy Awards and grossed over $2.2 billion at the box office.
Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (not understood)
Christian Bale pulled off a tour de force as the demented investment banker turned serial killer Patrick Bateman in the 2000 horror hit American psychopath, leaving audiences in awe of Bale’s ability to transform on screen. Based on the novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, the film initially had both Pitt and director David Cronenberg set in the ’90s, but that version was eventually scrapped due to creative differences between the pair. Surprisingly, Cronenberg did not want to photograph the violenceand after going through several directors and stars, the project found its movie magic in Bale and filmmaker Mary Harron.
Russell Hammond in Almost Famous (Rejected)
Cameron Crowe’s Oscar-winning dramedy Almost Famous features a star-studded cast of movie greats, including Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and follows 15-year-old child prodigy William as he follows the sensational band Stillwater. Crudup plays frontman Russell Hammond in his groundbreaking performance, but the character was almost played by Brad Pitt. The actor spent months preparing for the role with Crowe, but during the process Pitt felt the character was not right for him.
Crowe would later speculate why the Fight club star turned down the role, saying, “I cried. I knew that [Brad Pitt] had never quite fallen in love with the character. He had fallen in love with the idea of the character. But maybe there just wasn’t enough on the page. He told me [money] was not the case. I think it was probably half and half. I think he was also uncomfortable with the age difference between Russell and Penny Lane.”
Jim Swigert in Apollo 13 (rejected)
For his breathtaking portrayal of America’s failed mission to the moon in 1970, Ron Howard enlisted the talent of Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton to bring the thrilling true story to life on the big screen. Bacon appears as command module pilot Jack Swigert in Apollo 13, one of three astronauts to embark on the lunar mission, but it is aborted after an oxygen tank fails. Brat Pitt was offered the role of Swigert, but turned it down in favor of starring in David Fincher’s crime thriller Seven.
He hilariously relayed the decision On The morning call in 1995 and said, “I was talking to my mom the other day and she said, ‘I’ve just seen the greatest movie called Apollo 13. She said, “You should make more movies like this!” I said, ‘Mom, I turned around Apollo 13 down front Se7en! Just wait till you see that movie!'”
JD in Heathers (not received)
In Daniel Waters’ beloved 1989 black comedy heather, a vicious high school clique becomes the target of a rebellious outsider determined to kill the mean girls one by one; when he begins terrorizing innocent students, his girlfriend and clique Veronica (Winona Ryder) must put an end to the violence. Brad Pitt was one of several newcomers to audition for the part of the deranged JD, and although he did well, the part went to Christian Slater.
Waters described Pitt at the time as a “handsome guy with a laconic accent”, but he didn’t really fit the mood of the edgy character. After trying it out, Pitt told the director, “Hey man, I know I’m nobody, but for what it’s worth, that’s great.” Although he was passed over for the role, Pitt’s career didn’t stay still for long.
Colin Sullivan in The Departed (rejected)
Featuring some of Hollywood’s best artists teaming up with respected director Martin Scorsese for his epic crime thriller The departed, it’s not surprising that the gritty picture dominated both box office and awards season. The distinguished film, in which Boston’s underground crime scene and the Irish mafia are secretly infiltrated by the police, stars Matt Damon as mob spy Colin Sullivan, who is groomed by crime boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) to obtain information. Pitt was offered the role of a career criminal when Leonardo DiCaprio was set to play the lead role, but he ultimately declined passed on playing Sullivan, believing that a younger actor should play the role; Pitt decided to produce the thriller instead.