Brad Pitt Credits ‘Stranger’ for Giving Him Start as Actor

Somebody had to give iconic actor Brad Pitt his start, and if you ask Pitt, it was probably a “stranger.”

At least, that’s who Pitt said pointed him in the direction of taking acting classes back in the mid-1980s. Until then, he was just a struggling and mostly out-of-work performer who moved from his home in Missouri out to Los Angeles.

Eventually, he followed the so-called stranger’s advice and took some classes from noted acting coach Roy London. (London died in 1993 at the age of 50 after a battle with the AIDS virus.)

For Pitt, 59, small uncredited roles began to surface in 1987 films such as Less Than Zero, No Way Out and No Man’s Land. That same year, he gained a two-episode role on daytime soap Another World, and made an appearance on sitcom Growing Pains.

Finally, his big break came in 1991, with a spot in the Ridley Scott hit movie Thelma and Louise, starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis.

So along with the stranger, Pitt credited Scott, Davis and Robert Redford as helping him get noticed.

“I met some stranger who talked about an acting class, and I went to this class and turned things, you know, pointed me in a great direction,” Pitt said in a recent interview, via the Associated Press. “But my big (break) was Ridley Scott and Geena.

“Geena Davis giving me a shot in Thelma & Louise. That pretty much opened the door. And then Redford in … I can’t remember what it’s called … A River Runs Through It.”

The rest, of course, is history, as Pitt has gone on to star in more than 50 films and serve as producer for dozens more. He is next set to portray a retired Formula One driver in a movie that has yet to be titled.

Anyway, some may call Pitt the greatest actor of his generation. And it appears movie buffs have a stranger to thank.