In his acting career, Brad Pitt can look back on many highlights. However, a film from the 90s, which he considers a failure, plunged him into a crisis.
In today’s Hollywood landscape, Brad Pitt is still one of the biggest stars. Most of his fans would probably have trouble narrowing down the best films of his career to a small number. However, Pitt’s career is not just a series of crowning achievements. In an older interview, the star himself talked about a personal low that plunged him into a crisis.
Rendezvous with Joe Black is a dark moment in Brad Pitt’s career
In the 90s, the star’s choice of roles was not yet as confident and well-planned as it was later. As a result, Pitt appeared in films like Rendezvous with Joe Black, alongside hits like David Fincher’s Seven. In the three-hour fantasy drama, he plays Death in human form, who visits the dying billionaire William “Bill” Parrish (Anthony Hopkins). While he wants to take him to the afterlife, he also explores the world of the living.
The $90 million film was not a success at the box office, grossing just over $142 million. In a 2011 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pitt looks back regretfully on his performance in Rendezvous with Joe Black:
“That was the height of my… disorientation and loss of direction. […] Mr. Hopkins is one of the great ones, really kind and generous—one of those guys I take a lot of notes on. But I was 30 years old, and I was playing a character who was 40. I was playing the part too literally.”
That was the height of my… disorientation and loss of direction. […] Mr. Hopkins is one of the great ones, really kind and generous—one of those guys I take a lot of notes from. But I insisted on it. I blew it. I shouldn’t have been there at all. I should have stepped back. I just didn’t crack that.
I thought, ‘Maybe there’s something in just being there.’ Someone could have done a better job. Because Tony didn’t mess up. Tony delivered.
After Rendezvous with Joe Black, Pitt starred in Fincher’s Fight Club. Although the film initially flopped at the box office, it later became an absolute cult film. In the years that followed, the star went on to play other celebrated roles in films such as Snatch, Ocean’s Eleven and Troy, making Pitt a box-office success.
Where can you watch Meet Joe Black?
If you’re curious now, all you need is a Netflix subscription. Here you can watch the controversial 3-hour epic with Brad Pitt in the streaming flat rate.
