ACTING OUT – by
One of the hottest actors in the world, Brad Pitt hides his face behind animation in this month’s DVD and video release Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. But we know his gorgeous face is in there somewhere! TV HITS sat down with Brad and gazed into those aby blues…
Hi Brad! Working on an animated film like Sinbad, is there an animator in the studio sketching you while you record your voice?
Yes he is. He gets ideas. Desperately looking for some inspiration, I guess.
And how much do you act while you’re doing the voice work?
Well, I’m sure a more respectable actor would put a lot more into it. But, me, I just though we were all having a laugh, really! I mean it’s right there in front of you and you take several cracks at it and they keep you on track and everyone’s throwing in indeas and really you’re making it up as you go along. And then something else will unfold and they’ll call me back in and we’ll expand on that or get rid of it.
And the great thing about this is that you can turn up wearing trackies and you don’t have to deal with having your hair or make-up done…
Yeah, it’s easy, man. (Laughs) Easy road. But then again, our name is on this. Actors get credited for it but we’re such a tiny component of the overall piece. Somebody asked me, “How did you bring this character to life?” But I didn’t, somebody else did – about 500 animators over the course of four years and that’s what I was amazed with: the sophistication, the shot perspectives and the detail and the expressions of the characters. These guys know their game!
You also got your hair rather long at the moment…
Yeah, it’s for a job I’m doing at the moment. I’m playing Achilles in Troy.
You also look muscled up! How hard have you had to work?
Troy has been six months of training and preparation – dissecting of the themes and all that nonsense we actors get into.
So in back-to-back movies, you’re playing two great mythological characters…
I never even thought of it that way! But, yes, I guess they’re two great iconic characters, Sinbad and Achilles.
Do you enjoy that kind of physical preparation for a role like Achilles?
Yes, I do. There’s room for all of it – like in Ocean’s Eleven where you’re with the lads and that’s not a bad gig, either. But I find you get more out of these in-depth character searches and you put the work in and it certainly shows. But it’s no different to putting on a wig. You adapt your physical appearance to what you believe the character should represent.