In an ideal world, everyone who attains a great deal of success would keep themselves grounded. In reality, however, everyone knows somebody who allowed their success in a certain arena to go to their head. In fact, there are a lot of people who’ve somehow allowed their ego to get out of control even though they haven’t all that much success in their lives.

Considering the fact that so many ordinary people have massive egos, is it any surprise that a lot of movie stars think the world of themselves? Still, most people would like to think that their favorite movie stars have managed to remain relatively down to Earth. Unfortunately for people who wanted to believe that Brad Pitt isn’t narcissistic, he reportedly turned down a noted movie role for reasons that make him seem like an egomaniac.

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Pitt’s Superstar Status

When it comes to the vast majority of professional actors, a huge portion of their life is taken up by the process of waiting around to audition for roles they never land. On the other hand, there are a handful of actors who’ve attained so much success that they can afford to turn down parts on a regular basis.

Throughout his lengthy career, Brad Pitt has starred in a long list of acclaimed movies that will go down in history as all-time greats. More importantly in terms of his career, Pitt has headlined many films that did huge business at the box office. Due to those facts, Pitt is one of those actors who has the luxury of regularly turning down many of the movie roles that are offered to him.

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Pitt’s Rejected Roles

Even though it makes sense that Brad Pitt is in a position to regularly turn down movie roles, some people may have presumed that he didn’t pass on too many successful films. As it turns out, however, Pitt has passed on a lot of beloved movies over the years. Unlike the actor who turned down the opportunity to co-star with Pitt because of intimate scenes, Pitt often passed on movie roles simply because the part didn’t appeal to him.

Unfortunately for Brad Pitt, he turned down the chance to star in a movie that some people consider to be the best of all time, The Shawshank Redemption. Asked to portray Tommy Williams in the film, a pivotal character to the movie’s plot that gets overlooked too often, Pitt could have been fantastic in the role.

These days, most movie stars are best known for their roles in major film franchises. Aside from starring in the Ocean’s films, Brad Pitt has spent his career headlining standalone films. As it turns out, however, Pitt was given the chance to star in a couple of other movies series. Ultimately, Pitt turned down the opportunity to portray The Matrix’s Neo and Jason Bourne.

Some of the other movies Brad Pitt had the chance to headline include Almost Famous, Apollo 13, The Departed, Kick-Ass, Backdraft, and American Psycho. On the bright side, when he was asked about passing on The Shawshank Redemption, Pitt explained the healthy way he thinks about the roles he rejected. "I just believe in the way things work out, and that was someone else's role."

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Narcissistic Reason

When people look at all of the memorable movie roles that Brad Pitt passed on during his career, some observers may find it hard to fathom. Despite that, it should go without saying that Pitt doesn’t owe anyone an explanation for his choices. That said, when Pitt offers up an explanation, it is perfectly reasonable for other people to judge his reasons.

Up until now, this article hasn’t touched on the fact that Brad Pitt turned down the chance to play the lead role in one of the most beloved rom-coms ever made, About A Boy. According to reports, the reason why Pitt passed on About A Boy is he didn’t buy the idea that an attractive man would have to pretend to be a single father to land women.

When you think further about Pitt’s reported reason for passing on About A Boy, it quickly seems like his reason is very narcissistic. After all, it boils down to the idea that Pitt didn’t buy the idea that someone as handsome as he is would have any trouble seducing new women constantly. Whether or not people agree with Pitt’s take on his own ability to attract new women based on his looks alone, it is pretty egotistical of him to think like that.

Of course, the fact that Brad Pitt passed on About A Boy worked out perfectly. After all, Hugh Grant did a marvelous job playing the movie’s main character. On top of that, one thing that is great about About A Boy is that it is a quintessentially British film so the idea of an American playing the lead character seems wrong.

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