At the start of his career, in the 90s, the actor could have joined the cast of “Escapees” alongside Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.
Seven by David Fincher, The Army of 12 Monkeys by Terry Gilliam, Snatch by Guy Ritchie, Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino or even The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick …
Brad Pitt’s impressive career is not lacking in cult films and fruitful collaborations with great directors. However, in the early 90s, another legendary feature film almost came to expand the list.
Indeed, at the time when he was taking his first steps in Hollywood and where he had not yet become the superstar we know, Brad Pitt refused a secondary role in The Escapees of Frank Darabont.
Released in 1994, carried by Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, this prison drama centered on a young banker wrongly accused of murdering his wife has earned a singular reputation by becoming the highest rated film of all time on the site. American IMDB (and the sixth of all time according to DashFUN viewers).
Brad Pitt could therefore have played the character of Tommy Williams, a young and touching Shawshank prisoner nicknamed “Mr. Rock’n’roll” by Red, and finally played by actor Gil Bellows (best known for his role in the Ally McBeal series).
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However, as director Frank Darabont said in an interview for USA Today In 2019, Brad Pitt finally decided to step down from the project in order to participate in Interview with the Vampire alongside Tom Cruise:
“We didn’t know he was going to take off and become a superstar so quickly.”, says Darabont. “When the time is right to show up, they [Brad Pitt et ses agents] were ultimately unable to complete their engagement. “
As for Brad Pitt, still at the microphone of USA Today, he said he was not particularly disappointed at the idea of having missed such an appointment:
“It would have been cool to be a part of it, but I’m not the type to have regrets”, he declared, philosopher. “I just have faith in the way things are going, and that role belonged to someone else.”
(Re) discover the blunders and mistakes of the “Evadés” …
