10 Classic Movies Ruined By Just One Scene

7. Brad Pitt’s Cameo In 12 Years A Slave

Based on the memoirs of real life freeman-turned-slave Solomon Northup, Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave is a graphic portrayal of the brutal reality of slavery in pre-abolition America but there’s a moment in the film that kind of seems out of place and it’s basically all Brad Pitt’s fault.

In a cameo role as Canadian hired hand and pro-abolitionist Samuel Bass sporting an accent about as un-Canadian as it gets, Brad Pitt is the white man that saves the day by agreeing to inform Solomon’s family and friends in the north of his capture in hopes of securing his freedom.

While it’s historically accurate – Solomon was indeed helped to freedom again by a chance encounter with a non-racist Canadian – it’s such a distracting ‘eeee, look it’s Brad Pitt’ moment that the film might have benefited from a less recognisable actor in the role instead, and considering that Pitt was also co-producer of 12 Years a Slave it makes you wonder if there wasn’t a bit of self-serving nepotism going on behind the scenes.