The one actor Brad Pitt always wanted to emulate
The one actor Brad Pitt always wanted to emulate was Mickey Rourke, and he believes he can see elements of Rourke's style in his own performances.
(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Film » Cutting Room Floor
Thu 16 January 2025 21:35, UK
When a young Brad Pitt first began pursuing an acting career in the mid-1980s, he was deeply influenced by the stars of the New Hollywood era. These were actors whose intense dedication to their craft resonated with him and shaped his approach to his own roles. However, Pitt didn’t only draw inspiration from the past. He also looked to contemporary stars, particularly one leading man who stood out—a handsome yet intense actor with a sharp edge. Pitt has admitted to emulating this star throughout his career, whether consciously or not, and may have even included a subtle nod to him in one of his films.
In 1986, a 22-year-old Pitt was interviewed by Tiger Beat about his burgeoning career. He had recently begun landing small parts on television. He even booked a McDonald’s advert, which was fortunate for him, considering he told his parents that he had moved to California to study for an art college degree. Instead, he was bitten by the acting bug, admitting, “I always wanted to give this a try on my own. When I got out here, I started to check things out, and I never made it to art school.”
Despite being offered some sitcom roles in this period, Pitt only had eyes for the silver screen. When the interviewer asked him about his favourite actors, he began by namechecking arguably the two most iconic method actors of their respective eras. “Jack Nicholson is up there,” said Pitt, before adding, “Marlon Brando blows me away. The minute he came on the screen in A Streetcar Named Desire, wooooo!”
However, Pitt also reserved some praise for a few of his peers, gushing, “I love Sean Penn, even with the bad press he gets. When he is on the screen, I admire him. I like Timothy Hutton, too”.
At that time, Penn had graduated from his iconic supporting turn in the comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High to intense, demanding lead parts in At Close Range and Racing with the Moon. He had also shared the screen with Hutton in The Falcon and the Snowman, a spy drama that Roger Ebert awarded his full four-star rating.
To Pitt, though, one guy in that period stood head and shoulders above the rest. He marvelled, “I love Mickey Rourke; he blows my mind.”
(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)To be fair, Pitt wasn’t the only fan of the dangerous, unpredictable Rourke at that time – Hollywood had seemingly cherry-picked him as the next big thing. Between ’84 and ’86, Rourke starred in The Pope of Greenwich Village, Year of the Dragon, and 9 ½ Weeks, the third of which made him a bonafide superstar when it broke $100million at the box office.
Over the years, time and his love of boxing weren’t kind to Rourke, although he did experience a significant upturn in his fortunes in the mid-2000s. During this period, when Rourke seemingly had the favour of the movie business again, Pitt took the opportunity to remind the world how much he had always loved his fierce acting style. Fascinatingly, though, he also revealed that he can see elements of Rourke’s unique attributes in his own performances.
“It was all about Mickey Rourke,” Pitt confessed to Interview magazine in 2007. “I can see bits of him in stuff I do. Not that it’s a copy, and even at that level, but I certainly see where the inspiration comes from”. For Pitt, the influence is all based around Rourke’s trademark juxtaposition of “toughness and intimacy,” which means he is often “stone tough and paper brittle at the same time”.
Unfortunately for Pitt, he hasn’t had the opportunity to work with Rourke as of yet – although he did mention him by name in one of his lesser seen films. In The Counsellor, Pitt plays a criminal who has a warning for Michael Fassbender’s titular lawyer before he gets in too deep with the cartel. “Maybe I should tell you what Mickey Rourke told what’s his face?” he said. “That’s my recommendation anyway, counsellor. Don’t do it.”
Was this Pitt’s suggestion, a deliberate shout-out to his main acting inspiration? Or was it just a strange coincidence in the script? Alas, that has never been confirmed.
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Brad PittMickey Rourke
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