Brad Pitt is an American actor and producer whose career spans more than three decades. He rose to prominence with Thelma & Louise in 1991, later winning an Academy Award for his performance in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and sharing a Best Picture Oscar as a producer of 12 Years a Slave.
Alongside his professional achievements, Pitt has spoken openly about sobriety, therapy, fatherhood, creativity, and changing priorities. His recent work includes the Formula One production F1 The Movie, which received a Best Picture nomination in 2026, and a return to the role of Cliff Booth in a project scheduled for release later that year.
From Journalism Studies to Hollywood
Born William Bradley Pitt on December 18, 1963, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Pitt grew up in Springfield, Missouri. He later attended the University of Missouri, where he studied journalism.
Pitt left university shortly before completing his degree. During a June 2025 appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast, he explained that he participated in graduation ceremonies but did not finish his remaining coursework.
The University of Missouri subsequently confirmed his account, including his participation in the School of Journalism’s graduation ceremony.
After leaving Missouri, Pitt moved to California to pursue acting. He began obtaining television and film roles in the late 1980s, gradually building experience before gaining wider recognition.
His breakthrough came in Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise in 1991, in which he played the drifter J.D. Although his appearance was relatively brief, the role introduced him to a much larger audience.
Breakthrough Roles and Major Acting Recognition
Following Thelma & Louise, Pitt established himself through a range of leading and supporting roles.
His work during the 1990s included A River Runs Through It, Interview with the Vampire, Seven, 12 Monkeys, and Fight Club. These projects helped establish his reputation for taking on contrasting characters rather than remaining associated with one type of role.
His performance in 12 Monkeys earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award nomination.
During the following decades, his credits expanded to include Ocean’s Eleven, Troy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Inglourious Basterds, Moneyball, and Bullet Train.
One of his most significant acting achievements came with Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. Pitt portrayed Cliff Booth, a stuntman working alongside an established Hollywood actor played by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Pitt portrayed Cliff Booth, a stuntman working alongside an established Hollywood actor played by Leonardo DiCaprio.
On February 9, 2020, Pitt received the Academy Award for Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance. The role also brought him BAFTA and Golden Globe recognition.
His continued participation in major productions, including F1 The Movie in 2025, demonstrates that his acting career remains active.
Plan B Entertainment and His Producing Achievements
Pitt’s professional work extends beyond appearing on screen. Through Plan B Entertainment, he has participated in producing projects that received major industry recognition.
At the 2014 Academy Awards, Pitt shared the Best Picture Oscar for 12 Years a Slave with producers Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, and Anthony Katagas.
The award represented a significant achievement in his producing career, separate from his later individual acting Oscar.
Other productions associated with his producing work have received Best Picture nominations, including:
- Moneyball — nominated in 2012.
- The Big Short — nominated in 2016.
- F1 — nominated in 2026.
His producing achievements also extend to television. The Television Academy credits Pitt as an executive producer on Emmy-winning projects including The Normal Heart and Adolescence.
Pitt has explained that his professional choices increasingly involve considering whether a project will retain its meaning over time. In a 2019 GQ interview, he discussed looking beyond immediate commercial results and considering whether a production might still communicate something valuable years later.
This approach helps explain his interest in producing alongside acting, although it does not establish that every project follows the same creative priorities.
Fatherhood, Family Responsibilities, and Privacy
Pitt and Angelina Jolie share six children. The couple married in 2014, separated in 2016, and underwent a lengthy divorce process.
They were declared legally single in 2019, while their remaining divorce settlement was approved at the end of December 2024. These separate legal stages explain why different dates sometimes appear in accounts of their divorce.
In a May 2017 interview with GQ, Pitt discussed how the separation had prompted him to reconsider his responsibilities as a father.
He acknowledged that professional commitments had sometimes received too much of his attention. He also emphasized the importance of listening to children, acknowledging their feelings, and becoming more emotionally available.
His reflections were personal assessments of his behavior and intentions during that period, rather than independent accounts of his family relationships.
Pitt has also expressed concern about protecting his children’s privacy. His comments suggest that privacy becomes particularly important to him when family experiences or emotionally sensitive matters enter public discussion.
The precise state of his relationships with individual family members should not be assumed from his earlier interviews.
Sobriety, Therapy, and Emotional Change
Personal reassessment became a recurring subject in Pitt’s interviews following his separation from Jolie.
In 2017, he spoke candidly about excessive drinking and his decision to stop consuming alcohol. He explained that drinking had become a way of avoiding difficult emotions and that confronting those feelings was an important part of making changes.
He also described beginning therapy and examining his own weaknesses and decisions.
Pitt later discussed attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for approximately a year and a half. During his June 2025 appearance on Armchair Expert, he recalled appreciating the honesty of participants who shared difficult personal experiences.
These accounts establish what Pitt said about his recovery during those interviews, rather than providing a complete medical or present-day account of his alcohol use.
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In December 2019, Pitt spoke with Anthony Hopkins for Interview magazine about personal mistakes, responsibility, and forgiveness.
He explained that he had begun valuing past missteps for the wisdom they could provide. His reflections distinguished learning from mistakes from ignoring their consequences.
Pitt also discussed becoming more emotionally responsive as he grew older. He connected some of his earlier reluctance to express feelings with an upbringing that emphasized stoicism and emotional restraint.
By 2019, he had begun describing vulnerability as a source of strength rather than something to avoid.
Together, these interviews document changes in how Pitt described his emotional life, while remaining his own reflections rather than clinical assessments.
Changing Beliefs and Creative Interests
Pitt has also discussed changes in his religious and philosophical outlook.
Raised in a Christian environment, he later described periods of identifying as agnostic or atheist. In 2019, he expressed an interest in human connection and the interconnected nature of life.
His statements describe an evolving outlook rather than a fixed religious identity.
Outside his professional work, Pitt has pursued sculpture and other hands-on creative activities.
In 2017, he described spending considerable time working with materials including clay, plaster, wood, and metal. Creating physical objects offered him a different form of expression from his established career.
During a 2022 British GQ interview, he discussed his interest in ceramics and the quiet, tactile experience of making things.
He also described keeping paper beside his bed to record dreams upon waking. These details provide insight into his creative interests at the time, without establishing that the routines have remained unchanged.
Hurricane Katrina Rebuilding and Humanitarian Work
Pitt has participated in charitable initiatives and rebuilding projects, particularly following Hurricane Katrina.
He became associated with efforts to help rebuild housing in New Orleans after the 2005 disaster.
The Jolie-Pitt Foundation, established in 2006, also supported humanitarian organizations and rebuilding efforts.
In a 2017 interview, Pitt discussed his preference for making practical contributions rather than relying primarily on public political statements. He referred to rebuilding homes and helping produce meaningful work as ways of contributing.
His historical involvement is documented, although it should not be confused with a verified account of the present operations or outcomes of every associated initiative.
F1 The Movie: Racing Preparation and 2026 Oscar Recognition
One of Pitt’s most significant recent projects is F1 The Movie, released theatrically in June 2025.
Pitt portrayed Sonny Hayes, a fictional racing driver returning to Formula One competition. He also served as a producer.
The production involved close cooperation with the Formula One environment. Filming took place around actual racing events, and Pitt prepared to drive modified racing cars for the project.
During a June 23, 2025, interview with Formula 1, he described the experience as one of the most extraordinary of his professional career.
Following its theatrical release, F1 The Movie became available globally on Apple TV on December 12, 2025.
At the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026, F1 received a Best Picture nomination, with Pitt named among its credited producers.
The film did not win Best Picture but received the Academy Award for Sound. That award belonged to the credited sound team, not Pitt individually.
The nomination added another major producing credit to Pitt’s professional record while reflecting his continued participation in large-scale productions.
Brad Pitt’s Projects Beyond F1
Pitt’s professional work has continued beyond F1 The Movie, with both officially announced productions and projects reported by established industry publications.
One confirmed project is The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, directed by David Fincher from a screenplay by Quentin Tarantino.
Pitt reprises the Cliff Booth character he played in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. Netflix confirmed the production and announced a two-week IMAX theatrical run beginning November 25, 2026, followed by a Netflix release scheduled for December 23, 2026.
The project also lists Pitt as a producer, continuing his work on both sides of the camera.
Another project linked to Pitt is The Riders, an adaptation of Tim Winton’s novel. Variety and Deadline reported that Pitt was attached to star, with Edward Berger directing and A24 financing and distributing the production.
The project was reported as moving toward production, but its eventual release date should not be treated as confirmed without an official announcement.
These projects provide a clearer picture of Pitt’s continuing professional commitments than speculation about retirement.
Brad Pitt’s Career and Personal Outlook
Brad Pitt’s professional development has taken him from unfinished journalism studies and early television roles to Academy Award recognition as both an actor and producer.
His recent projects demonstrate continued involvement in major productions, while his interviews document a more reflective approach to work, responsibility, family, creativity, and personal mistakes.
His public record is therefore shaped by two distinct developments: a sustained career that has expanded into producing, and his own accounts of changing priorities as he has grown older.