Brad Pitt's 13 Best Movies, Ranked
There's no denying Brad Pitt's an incredibly good-looking guy, but you can't base a successful 20-plus-year career on looks alone. With his new movie, "By the Sea," directed by wife Angelina Jolie, hitting theaters, here are Pitt's 13 best films.
13. 'Spy Game' (2001)
For years, people have been comparing Pitt to Robert Redford, so it was a treat to see them finally share the screen in this spy thriller in which Pitt tries to break his protegé out of a Chinese prison.
12. 'Legends of the Fall' (1995)
You could argue that 1994 was when Pitt reached maximum hotness: In this lush, romantic epic, he sports the same long blond hair as on the cover of People's "Sexiest Man Alive" the following year. Who could ever forget the scene where he first meet Julia Ormond and has to be doused with water by his brother?
11. 'Interview With the Vampire' (1994)
As brooding vampire Louis, Pitt doesn't enjoy eternity as much as his maker Lestat (Tom Cruise), but he brings a mesmerizing stillness to the role that convinces us why Lestat was so taken with him in the first place.
10. 'World War Z' (2013)
Pitt handpicked the director and produced this zombie thriller and, despite early bad buzz, it ended up being a smart, suspenseful addition to the genre. (And who knew magazines were good for zombie defense?) The sequel is due in 2017.
9. 'Moneyball' (2011)
Pitt is at the top of his game as cocky number-crunching Billy Beane, who shakes up the world of baseball with his daring new approach. The role earned him his third acting Oscar nomination and his first nomination for Best Picture as a producer.
8. 'Inglourious Basterds' (2009)
Pitt was at his comic best as Lt. Aldo Raine, who recruits a handful of Jews to "kill Nat-zees" in Quentin Tarantino's wildly revisionist war drama. Where's the petition to have Pitt do another Tarantino movie?
7. 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' (2005)
Sure, the movie is best known for being the one that brought Pitt and Angelina Jolie together. But 10 years after its release, "Smith" should also be appreciated for being one of the most entertaining (and funny) summer action movies in recent memory. Pitt is crazy-good as the assassin targeting his wife, who is also an assassin. Tons of really inventive set pieces ensue, including one involving a car chase in a mini-van.
6. '12 Monkeys' (1995)
Pitt proved he was more than a pretty face with his memorable performance as a twitchy, motor-mouthed metal patient who's tied to a vast conspiracy in this time-traveling sci-fi thriller. It earned him his first Oscar nomination.
5. 'Ocean's Eleven' (2001)
Pitt's con man character Rusty Ryan is always chewing on something in the first movie in this highly entertaining franchise and we kind of wanted to take a bite out of him too.
4. 'Thelma and Louise' (1991)
The movie that put Pitt on the map: When he flashed those abs and dimples, Geena Davis was a goner and so were we.
3. 'True Romance' (1993)
Pitt's first role in a Tarantino-written movie is arguably one of his most underrated. Here, he plays couch-bound stoner Floyd in Tony Scott's ultra-violent love story.
2. 'Fight Club' (1999)
As the mysterious, badass leader of a strange macho cult Tyler Durden, Pitt was the man every guy wanted to be and every woman wanted to have -- and every movie geek would quote from here on out.
1. 'Se7en' (1995)
Pitt, still a rising star, earned our respect by choosing dark fare like this now-classic thriller instead of a series of brainless action movies or romcoms. And we have him to thank for keeping the contents of a certain box as is.
