The trick the director of ’12 Monkeys’ used to make Brad Pitt go completely crazy during filming
Pitt, then 32 years old, was a big star after the success of ‘Se7en’, but director Terry Gilliam forced him to make concessions for the filming of ’12 Monkeys’.
One of the most remarkable science fiction films ever made, ’12 Monkeys’ could only have come from the mind of Terry Gilliam.
Gilliam brought together two major stars in Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis for a singular post-apocalyptic story in which time travel plays a central role.
Pitt was 32 at the time but had had his big breakthrough with the massive success of 'Se7en’, David Fincher’s acclaimed thriller that also featured Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey.
However, Pitt had signed on to Gilliam’s project before ‘Se7en’, ‘Interview with the Vampire’ and ‘Legends of the Fall’ were released. As a result, his salary was well below his true market value and Pitt had to make some concessions during filming.
In ’12 Monkeys’, Pitt plays Jeffrey Goines, a mentally ill patient in a psychiatric hospital who may hold the key to uncovering the origins of the virus that wiped out much of humanity between 1996 and 1997. The role required fast, erratic and manic speech combined with the facial expressions of someone truly unhinged. Gilliam sent Pitt to a voice-focused acting coach but the results still fell short of what the director wanted.
Gilliam then made a decision that reportedly upset Pitt, banning him from smoking during filming. It was a frustrating measure for Pitt but may have helped him to portray the restless, wide-eyed character that Gilliam had in mind.
However the sacrifice paid off. Pitt earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, though he would not win an Oscar until 2020 for ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’. Notably, he has still never won the Academy Award for Best Actor despite nominations for ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ and ‘Moneyball’.
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