From marrying two of the most glamorous leading ladies in Hollywood, to almost effortlessly landing pivotal roles in multi-award-winning films, Brad Pitt stands tall in a league of his own. A critical and commercial darling, the now 59-year-old ranks among the highest paid actors in Hollywood, taking home at least $20 million for each major motion picture appearance.
However, there was a time when Brad Pitt’s star wasn’t shining so bright in the Hollywood sky, and, like any other struggling actor, the two-time Academy Award winner had to settle for a lot less than his minimum salary. One such time was when Brad Pitt was chosen over George Clooney in the 1991 Ridley Scott female-buddy comedy, Thelma & Louise. Here’s how, though responsible for one of the most memorable performances in the film, Pitt ended up taking home a measly $6,000 salary for the role.
Brad Pitt Got His Breakthrough As J.D In Thelma & Louise
Though now at the top of the Hollywood A-list, Brad Pitt certainly didn’t become a star overnight. The now 59-year-old’s decades-long acting career kicked off with uncredited roles in films like No Way Out, No Man’s Land, and Less than Zero. Things didn't turn around until 1990, when the then 27-year-old auditioned for a small role in Scott Ridley’s female-buddy comedy, Thelma & Louise. Then a Hollywood newcomer, Pitt had to audition a couple of times before he finally landed the role.
“I just thought, I’m the guy for this,” he recalled during a recent interview with W Magazine. “But they went through a couple of other actors. I didn’t get the part at first, and then it came back around, and I didn’t get it again, and I went, ‘Huh. All right. Moving on.’ And then it came back around again. I feel like it was three times.”
Though in contention with the likes of George Clooney, Pitt absolutely aced his third audition for the film. “Each of them were very handsome,” Geena Davis, who starred in the film as Thelma, said of Pitt’s audition during her 2020 appearance on The Graham Norton Show. “They all had brown hair and were very talented. I didn’t care who it was going to be. Then the fourth one comes in, and it’s Brad Pitt. He’s so charismatic and so incredibly talented that I was screwing up his audition.”
With Geena Davis on board, Pitt finally got his breakthrough, despite only having a few uncredited film and TV appearances under his belt. “I’m really grateful to Ridley Scott and Geena, who gave me that shot, because that was the big league,” he admitted in his 2020 interview with The Sun. “I had nothing to show for myself, except for my work as an extra, and they took a chance on me. I think they were desperate, to tell you the truth. They were already shooting because a week later I was on set, working.”
Brad Pitt Took Home $6,000 For Playing J.D In Thelma & Louise
For his portrayal of the enigmatic cowboy hitchhiker, J.D, Brad Pitt took home $6,000; a measly sum when pegged against his current $20 million minimum salary. However, having previously moved to Los Angeles with nothing but $275 to his name, and been perfectly content working as an extra, the measly paycheck mattered little to Pitt.
“It was a week before graduation and I realized all of my friends had jobs,” he told The Sun of his move to Hollywood in 2020. “I had a friend, who was not even a close friend, who talked about going out to LA and her dad had a place. I loaded up the car. I didn’t graduate. All I had to do was hand in a term paper, but in my head, I was done. I was going west. I landed and went straight to McDonald’s. I got a newspaper. I had $275 (£200) to my name, and I saw in the paper that you could sign up for work as an extra, so I signed up for three places. Within a week, I was doing extra work, and I was really, really happy.”
Unconcerned with the paltry wage, Pitt brought his A-game on set, delivering a performance so resonant that critics are still raving about it more than three decades on. “For more than a decade, the ideal man was a muscle-bound warrior more focused on heroism than human connection—Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Van Damme,” wrote Manuela Lazic of The Ringer in 2020. “Then Brad Pitt showed up in 1991 with a blow-dryer and a cowboy hat.”
Brad Pitt Is Now One Of The Highest Paid Actors In Hollywood
Despite the measly pay, Thelma & Louise completely altered the trajectory of Brad Pitt’s career. Perhaps owing to his devastating good looks, audiences just couldn’t wait to see more of the now 59-year-old actor. Almost immediately after appearing in the film, Pitt seamlessly transitioned into critically acclaimed projects like 12 Monkeys, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, and Legends of the Fall.
Brad Pitt's earnings and net worth rose dramatically following his breakthrough in the cult classic film. Just a year after its big screen debut, Pitt secured a role in Dominic Sena’s road thriller, Kalifornia, for which he earned $500,000. Two years after effortlessly embodying a serial killer in Kalifornia, Pitt secured his first seven-figure paycheck, making an impressive $4 million for portraying idealistic detective David Mills in David Fincher’s crime thriller, Se7en.
By the time the 2000s came around, the once unfamed Pitt had transformed into a critical and commercial darling, making upwards of $20 million for each major motion picture appearance. The 59-year-old now ranks among the highest paid entertainers in the world, and has consistently appeared on Forbes’ prestigious list of highest paid entertainers for over a decade.
