Brad Pitt names the icon who ruined acting for everyone
Brad Pitt names the icon who ruined acting for everyone: Robert De Niro, who changed the game by transforming his body for 'Raging Bull.'
(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Film » Cutting Room Floor
Wed 22 January 2025 20:45, UK
Over the course of the last 50 years or so, the demands of being a leading man in Hollywood have changed dramatically. In the 1970s, a generation of unique, intense young method actors altered how the world viewed acting by pioneering a naturalistic style that had rarely been seen before. Moving into the ’80s, though, that gritty realism often gave way to bombast and an ever-increasing focus on one particular aspect of the actor’s toolset. In modern times, that aspect is more vital, analysed, and rigorously controlled than ever before. Interestingly, Brad Pitt claims he knows exactly who is to blame.
When the likes of Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert De Niro took over Hollywood in the ’70s, their performances were revelatory for most cinemagoers. These stars didn’t look or act like the glitzy, preened matinee idols that came before them; instead, they looked like anyone you would see on the street, with rumpled clothes and messy hair. The physiques of these actors mattered considerably less than their ability to draw an audience in with their realistic performances.
However, in the ’80s, the arrival of Arnold Schwarzenegger signalled an increased interest in sculpted physiques that looked more like they belonged on an action figure than an actual human being. Before long, Sylvester Stallone – who had always been in good shape for the Rocky movies – began doing everything he could to go further by sculpting his body like Schwarzenegger.
Fast-forward to the modern day and the last 20 years of blockbuster cinema have been defined by actors striving to get as buff as possible to sell the reality of whatever superhero, soldier, spy, or another kind of action hero they’re playing. Gone are the days when Hollywood would just sculpt muscles on Michael Keaton’s bat costume – these days, if you want to play the Dark Knight, you need to hit the gym hard. Just ask Christian Bale and Ben Affleck, who transformed their bodies to portray the Caped Crusader.
Of course, Brad Pitt is no stranger to the hot body trend, given that he is generally in great shape in most of his films. However, while his career hasn’t necessarily been defined by how big his muscles are, he did push the boat out for one of his films: 2004’s Troy. Amusingly, he later admitted his motivation to embody the ancient Greek warrior Achilles by getting super-jacked was likely part of “an impending mid-life crisis”.
To make audiences believe in him as a long-haired, sword-wielding, sandal-wearing soldier, Pitt committed to eight months of gruelling physical training. This helped him pile on ten pounds of muscle, which director Wolfgang Petersen showed off in several battle sequences and tastefully arranged nude scenes. Fascinatingly, though, when Pitt was asked about his body transformation, he admitted to missing the days when he could just embrace his lazy Sundays “like a dog on the front porch”.
Still, Pitt knew the role of Achilles required a commitment to physicality he’d never entirely experienced before – because audiences had come to expect it from actors. He didn’t affectionately point the finger of blame at Schwarzenegger or Stallone for ruining acting for everyone by forcing them to become depressingly familiar with the gym, though. Instead, he blamed one of the pioneers of the 1970s New Hollywood era.
“Ever since De Niro put on 60 pounds for Raging Bull, he sort of set the course,” chuckled Pitt to Blackfilm in 2004. “He screwed us all”. So, there you have it: the reason every actor is required to have a rippling six-pack these days isn’t because of Arnie or Sly.
According to Pitt, it’s because De Niro transformed his body for Martin Scorsese’s seminal boxing biopic by training with the real Jake LaMotta and becoming a genuinely great middleweight boxer – before packing on 60 pounds during an ill-advised binge-eating trip to Italy and France.
Related Topics
Brad PittRobert De Niro
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