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 Openly
gay singer/songwriter Melissa Ethridge once said of Brad Pitt [and I
am only paraphrasing here], "He could turn a gay woman's eye... he's
just that beautiful." But there's so much more to this actor than meets
the eye of any purveyor. Brad Pitt is perhaps, in my humble opinion, the
most underrated actor there is working today. There. I said it. And I'd
say it again. I still believe, to this very day, that Brad Pitt should
have been cast in the lead role of the roguish Jack on director James
Cameron's epic "Titanic"... I guarantee you that the kissing scene on
the ship's bow would have taken on a whole new meaning. You have an epic
film? Then you cast an epic actor... But alas... I digress. The
stunningly handsome actor wouldn't have to wait too long for his own
shot at an epic tale... that of "Troy", a Greek tragedy in which Pitt is
brilliantly cast as Achilles, a bad boy of tremendous proportions. Pitt
may be 40, but fans of the star will notice a rather chiseled up body in
various stages of form and undress. Getting in shape might have been a
big deal for the star, but he jokingly quips... "It's amazing what an
impending midlife crisis will do for you, really. It got me motivated,
having turned 40 in December." But seriously, preparing to train for
Troy was actually rather tough on the actor. "It sucked and it was
brutal. I started out about six months ahead, going in. It was four
meals a day of protein and low-carb, it was quitting smoking, and it was
two, three hours in the gym, getting to a point of absolute discomfort.
After three months I finally started to enjoy it and on top of that we
had sword lessons." For the record, Pitt's back smoking. "I picked it up
again. I've actually picked it up, then quit, and then picked it up
again."
Initially, Pitt recalls, he was not as eager to play Achilles as
one might think. "When I first read the thing it seemed too obvious, in
a way, in my addled brain. But then I quickly got into it." Obvious, he
says, "because of the golden boy, or something." But the actor found his
way, and managed to read the Homer poem in its entirety, rather than
rely on Cliff Notes. "I actually read the whole thing because I knew
this question was coming," he says laughingly. "When I started it, I
really got into it. There's a reason why it's still around, as it's one
of the great stories in a handful of stories and you've seen how many
films and stories are derivative of it." Pitt says that he has thought
long and hard about Achilles and his own sense of who this guy is.
"There's a real telling line when he says, 'I want what all men want; I
just want more.' There's restlessness and isolation in the guy. Whether
he's running from death or trying to find himself in a personal glory,
he's at a point where he's had that glory and that hasn't done it for
him. The Achilles' heel, to me, is representative of his heart. It
wasn't until Priam (Peter O'Toole) knocked some sense into him, with
words instead of might, that he was then able to ride out the rest of
his life with a personal understanding of the greater humanity and his
own inner peace of mind." But asked about the actor's OWN Achilles'
heel, the usually forthcoming actor shies away from a response. "I'm not
going there. It's intimacy for all of us, which is pretty much for nine
out of 10 of us around, right?"
UPBEAT You often mention fame parallels. Do you find the fame absurd?
Brad Pitt
"I don't find it absurd. But the fame game… I don't know how to
answer that. I don't find it silly, certainly. I certainly have been
drawn to people or events and learned something about my life from it or
emulated something. But it can easily go down the wrong road, when it
becomes obsession. I really don't have a great answer for it."
UPBEAT What was the weirdest encounter you have ever had with a fan?
And keep in mind here... your publicist only gave us 20 minutes
[laughing] to finish this entire interview...
Brad Pitt "[laughing] Good for
you... [laughing] Twenty minutes, huh? Oh I don't know... well, just
when they break in to your house. I remember being in Argentina. I was
dating Paltrow at the time. We were certainly fading off to sleep and in
the room I see this figure come in, and it was a little 14-year-old girl
who had climbed over the walls and had broken into the house through an
upstairs window. It was surreal. That stuff gets to you after a while."
UPBEAT What about working with a legend like Peter O'Toole?
Brad Pitt "I've had a few highlights
in the decade or so I've gotten to do this, but that to me is one that
gives me gooseflesh, just to be able to do that [scene] with Peter
O'Toole. I love this man very much."
UPBEAT Do you ever get nervous doing a scene like that with a man
like that?
Brad Pitt "No. I probably would have
when I was younger, but now I'm very aware that my game is going to be
better when his game is better or her game is better. It's going to be
better. We're going to get somewhere, because we need each other to take
it somewhere beyond. I can't do it on my own and he can't do it on his
own. Well, he could probably do it on his own. He's been around a lot
longer than me."
UPBEAT Are you and David Fincher planning to work together again? We
LOVED "Fight Club" by the way. You gave the character such life.
Brad Pitt "Thank you. Oh yeah....
David and I have been talking about a couple of things. It's just too
early. We're always talking about a couple of things [laughing] but
we'll definitely do something."
 Editor's
Additional Notes:
Pitt was moved to tears during a recent low-profile visit to the
Abantwana's Children Ward in Durban, which houses 45 ailing patients. He
also visited St Mary's, the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in
South Africa, as well as clinics and orphanages in Johannesburg. The
visit was made possible through Data, the organization founded by U2
Frontman [and UPBEAT favorite] Bono, the leader of Irish rock, to raise
awareness of people living with HIV/Aids and in poverty. The US
government also funds the operation of clinical wards at St Mary's for
Aids patients on antiretrovirals. Pitt, acting on behalf of the American
delegation, was here to check on the center's progress. Last month Pitt
revealed that he felt compelled to appear in a new charity campaign
titled "Make Poverty History" because he wanted to make a difference in
the world. "I'm going back [to Africa] in a couple of weeks. There are
some kids I want to visit," Pitt said. "It is as much for me as them.
I'm telling you, you just wanna take 'em up in your arms, and take as
many with you as you can." UB
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