Another Hollywood star who started his career young, Brad Pitt's first real breakthrough performance came in 1991 with the release of Ridley Scott's Thelma And Louise and has since seen the actor trying to break away from his "pretty boy" image on more than one occasion. Pitt has certainly demonstrated in several movies that he is an actor capable of being more than just a pretty face - from his supporting role in 12 Monkeys as the psychologically damaged Jeffrey Goines to the airheaded personal trainer in the Coens' Burn After Reading, his filmography certainly displays some range. Unfortunately it's the chisel-jawed, smooth talking persona which tends to come out to play more often than not, while some deviations from this template - for instance his turn in Inglorious Basterds - impress only in an over-the-top, cartoonish manner. From Mr. And Mrs. Smith to World War Z, Brad Pitt's starring roles all too often fit into the same category as those chosen by Tom Cruise - they're exactly the kind of movie these stars know will perform well at the box office, but hardly a stretch when it comes to challenging themselves as actors to move away from the on-screen heroics.
