Fans Spotted One Bizarre Thing Brad Pitt Is Always Doing In His Movies

Brad Pitt has been a Hollywood mainstay for decades now, appearing in a whole host of top movies. Whether it’s in blockbusters such as Ocean’s Eleven, critically adored flicks like Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, or cult classics including Fight Club, Pitt is always a hit with audiences. But the more astute fans out there might’ve picked up on a strange habit he always seems to exhibit in his films. In fact, even one of his A-list colleagues has noticed it.

Movie Signature

As one of Hollywood’s most prominent figures, it maybe shouldn’t be a surprise that Pitt has something of a movie signature. Many actors are known for specific tropes that they adhere to in their films. Will Smith, for example, often says the words “Aw, hell no!” And Tom Cruise runs an awful lot in his flicks.

Calling It Out

Pitt’s signature, though, is way more subtle than Smith’s and Cruise’s. In fact, it’s really easy to miss it. But eagle-eyed fans have noticed, as has his Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood colleague Margot Robbie. And during an interview they did together to promote that film, she called him out on it.

Attention Puller

Being among the most famous men on the planet, Pitt’s behavior is always a tremendous source of public fascination. Everything he does is monitored and commented upon, whether that’s in real life or in his performances. Even the way he styles his hair has caused a stir in certain circles.

Miming His Women

It’s been noticed that Pitt has a tendency to mimic the hairstyles of the women he becomes romantically involved with. Numerous examples of this have been cited in the press, such as when he and Gwyneth Paltrow both sported pixie cuts. A similar habit’s been observed during his respective relationships with Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston and Juliette Lewis.

Chowing Down Scene

But the hair thing’s a real-life habit, whereas the one Margot Robbie noticed was something Pitt exhibits in his films. But what exactly did the actress pick up on? Well, if you watch Pitt’s movies, you’ll see that he almost always has at least one scene in which he’s chowing down on some food.

The Pitt Meal

According to the website Insider, Pitt can be seen consuming food in more than 60 of his movies. That’s quite a lot, especially when you consider just how ordinary an act eating is. It’s not really the type of thing that you’d expect to be deemed entertaining in a Hollywood production.

Always Something Different

But when you have Brad Pitt as a star in a film, even the most ordinary of acts can be riveting. That’s why we see him crunching on chips in Se7en. Or why he consumes a sandwich, bacon and eggs, toast and peanut butter across different scenes in Meet Joe Black.

From Smoothies To Rat Meat

Pitt also does a lot of eating in several scenes of Ocean’s Eleven, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Moneyball. During Burn After Reading he drinks a smoothie, and in Troy he rips apart a massive turkey leg. Interview with the Vampire sees him sustain himself on human blood and rat meat.

Pitt Eating Compliation

There are many, many other examples of Pitt eating on film, but it’d take far too long to list them all. Having said that, there are videos circulating online of Pitt’s food scenes all spliced together. It seems people are perfectly happy to sit back and watch nothing but Brad Pitt eating for a while.

The Laurence Olivier Of Eating

But that of course begs the question as to why it happens so often. Is it just that Brad Pitt’s plainly a master of consuming food in front of the camera? Well, according to a casting director named Caroline Liem, that’s exactly what’s going on. Speaking to The Seattle Times about the actor’s movie habit, she remarked, “He’s the Laurence Olivier of eating!”

One With The Food

Liem explained that some actors really struggle to eat in a natural way when the cameras are rolling. Pitt, on the other hand, appears perfectly cool with it. “He makes it look like an actual human being eating, and you don’t get that a lot,” she said. “He’s just one with food.”

Film Foodie

Many people have picked up on Pitt’s tendency to eat on screen, including fellow A-lister Margot Robbie. And when the two of them were promoting their film Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, the subject came up. It happened during an interview with website JOE, which led Robbie to ask her co-star about his habit.

Natural Grazer

Pitt explained his reason for eating in his movies in a pretty simple way. He said, “I like to busy myself. I’m a grazer by nature.” This seemed to strike a chord with Robbie, who replied, “I know, I like that too, when you get to do something.” But she wasn’t dropping the subject there.

But Is It Planned?

Throughout Ocean’s Eleven, Pitt’s character can be seen eating a whole host of different food items. Everything from shrimp cocktail to ice-cream, fruit salad and a burger are eaten on the screen, a fact that didn’t escape Robbie. She asked Pitt, “In Ocean’s Eleven, do you talk about it, or do you just always have food handy?”

Intentional Choice

Pitt then explained that it wasn’t an arbitrary decision to eat so much in the film. He said, “Well, there was actually method to that, because [the character] was always on the run, always on the move. I figured he could never sit down and have a proper meal. So he always had to grab something on the run.”

Adding Depth

So, it seems that a great deal of thought really does go into Pitt’s eating habits in movies. Though he enjoys “grazing,” he also eats onscreen for the sake of adding depth to his characters. And that’s all well and good, except it doesn’t explain why audiences love seeing it so much.

Craving Humanity

Fabio Parasecoli’s an academic who specializes in the depiction of food in movies, and he has his own thoughts. Speaking to The Seattle Times, he expressed his belief that people really like to see famous people do everyday, normal things. As he put it with regard to Pitt, “[His] humanity is more visible if he’s doing something we all do.” In this case, that would be eating.

Evolutionary Comfort

Another professor, Craig Richard, has proposed a different reason for people’s enjoyment of seeing Pitt consume food. He suggested to The Seattle Times that it’s down to evolutionary reasons. Basically, we begin to feel more at ease when a person who seems friendly is eating food from a particular source. It sends a signal to us that it’s safe for us to eat, too.

Bound To Be Beautiful

Of course, all of this could simply be over-complicating things. Perhaps the simple truth is that people like to see good-looking folk do things. As Richard put it, “We do seem to be hard-wired to prefer to stare at people determined, through whatever cultural definition, to be attractive.”

Thirty Years Pittless

It's hard to even imagine what the last 30 years of cinema look like without Brad Pitt. The seasoned actor has spent his career rising through the ranks of the film industry one blockbuster at a time, but many would be surprised to learn what his life was like before he became Hollywood’s little golden boy.

Missouri Boy

Before he was making millions of dollars on films like World War Z and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Brad was your typical Missouri boy: the son of a business owner and school counselor, and brother to two younger siblings. Still, life wasn’t always so typical for Brad.

A Southern Baptist Household

He was raised in a Southern Baptist household where he felt constant guilt about “what you can and cannot, should and shouldn’t do.” In an interview he said that he eventually “wanted to experience things religion said not to experience,” which led him down an unforeseen path in High School... 

Expanding

Wanting to shirk his conservative upbringing, Brad played multiple sports and was in the Key and Forensic clubs. He participated in school debates and, of course, he performed in school musicals. Still, the thought of acting on a bigger stage never seemed possible.

Different Worlds

He’d always loved films and described them as being a “portal into different worlds," but as a college student he focused on journalism. Still, as his college graduation loomed nearer, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

“I can leave.”

One thought kept popping into Brad’s mind: “I can leave.” He knew he had to make a career out of his passion. But the film industry was far away from the University of Missouri, so he took the chance of a lifetime.

To Los Angeles

He dropped out of college just two credits shy of graduation and moved to L.A. For seven months, he drove a limo for extra cash and tried to break into the acting world. Many aspiring actors would have quickly given up... 

Growing Pains

But after mere months of the acting grind, Brad secured an agent. Soon after came small TV roles, including on the family sitcom Growing Pains. As his success grew on the small screen, it was clear that a pattern was developing. 

Pretty Face

Many of his early characters fit the same mold: handsome, edgy loners from the other side of the tracks. Though it was definitely a departure from his religious Missouri upbringing, Brad wanted to prove himself as more than just a pretty face.

Capable

He thought back to his strict childhood to give him the confidence he needed. “One thing my folks always stressed was being capable, doing things for yourself,” Brad said. Ambition and a small ego, two things many aspiring actors fail to cultivate...

Thelma & Louise

But early in his career, Brad seemed to have this balancing act down pat. His career finally seemed to be going somewhere with a role in 1991’s Thelma & Louise. However, this role also solidified his image for years to come.

The Handsome Guy

His intense role made him the definitive “pretty face” in Hollywood. The recognition landed him roles in films like A River Runs Through It and Interview With The Vampire, which were successful, though they further pigeon-holed him.

Changing Luck

At this point, many actors would have thrown in the towel, but not Brad. He was young, attractive, and talented, three attributes that mean everything in Hollywood. He started to accept his place as a “pretty boy” in Hollywood...in 1995, however, his luck changed. 

12 Monkeys

Though his previous films had solidified him as a good-looking and capable actor, it was the film 12 Monkeys that earned him an Oscar nomination as well as a Golden Globe award. From here, his career skyrocketed. 

Successes

Fight Club, Ocean’s 11, Moneyball: they were all movies that showcased Brad’s edgy and suave status among the Hollywood elite. Add in high-profile relationships with Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie, Brad was truly among the best and brightest of Hollywood...

In the Public Eye

Living such a public lifestyle would be hard for anyone, and it took its toll. But every time he was in the news, he would remember what he learned growing up: he was capable of anything. So, he decided to do something unexpected...

The Departed

Brad leaped into the role of producer, and it paid off: His films The Departed and 12 Years a Slave both won Oscars for Best Picture. Still, if there’s one constant about Hollywood, it’s change, and Brad could tell that something was shifting.

"A younger man’s game."

During an interview for the 2019 movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Brad admitted that acting is now “a younger man’s game.” He’d always been Hollywood’s dependable “pretty boy” actor, but it seems he’s doubting his long-term role in the industry. 

Natural Selection

Many actors do whatever it takes to stay relevant in Hollywood, from taking corny blockbuster roles to doing reality TV. But Brad believes that everything will eventually come full-circle...including his own career. "There will be a natural selection to it all," he said.

Dinosaurs

He’s even open to newer movie-making mediums, including streaming services. Still, he’s quick to underline his changing role in the industry. “But I could be a dinosaur and not even know it, man. And the comet could be on the way.”