Brad Pitt is the movie star to beat all other movie stars. He is handsome, talented, rich, and (by all accounts) a pretty nice guy. Actress Angelina Jolie (and one or two of his kids) aside, most people have nothing but praise for the guy.
He first burst into prominence in 1991's Thelma & Louise. He played a hunky, handsome, cowboy hitchhiker.
The world knows about his movies, his fame, and his marriages to Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie. And the kids. Lots of kids. But what about before all of that? What came before the mega-rich actor/producer that Brad Pitt has become?
It's a kind of All-American story of a boy from the Midwest who hit Hollywood in search of a career in movies. Just exactly who was Brad Pitt before fame and fortune found him? Well, we'll give you a hint. Think chicken suits and strippers.
An All-American Childhood
Brad was born into a conservative Christian family and raised as a Southern Baptist in Springfield, Missouri. He attended Kickapoo High School and then went on to the University of Missouri to pursue a degree in journalism. His good looks and personality made him a shoo-in with the girls.
But there's more. Lots more. Some outlets report that he was a member of a seven-man stripper group called (wait for it) the Dancing Bares when he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
According to Digital Spy: "Former frat brother Thomas Whelihan told In Touch Weekly: 'When a girl from one of our sister sororities turned 21, the Bares would put her in a chair and come out butt-naked with pillowcases on their heads and do a choreographed dance for her. The girls would be laughing so hard. It was great!' " Well, if you say so.
Friends from those days say that Brad was big on practical jokes. No matter how embarrassing they were for his victims. He thought it was hilarious. His friends weren't so sure. These days, along with his pal George Clooney, Brad has the reputation of being one of Hollywood's biggest pranksters.
In addition to his days as a Dancing Bare, Brad had participated in school and college musicals and plays and even in his teens had a passion for movies that he called "a portal into a different world". He wanted to be in movies. And that just wasn't going to happen in Missouri. So, two weeks short of completing his coursework for a degree, he chucked college (and the Dancing Bares) and moved to Los Angeles.
Driving Strippers And Wearing Chicken Suits
Well, you don't just arrive in Hollywood and starting acting in movies. So, Brad mooched around doing odd jobs to pay the bills.
He worked as a chauffeur, often driving strippers to and from gigs. His job was to collect the money and pick up the girls' clothes as they peeled them off.
He has said: “My job was to drive them to bachelor parties and things. I’d pick them up, and at the gig, I’d collect the money, play the bad Prince tapes and catch the girls’ clothes. It was not a wholesome atmosphere, and it got very depressing.”
But a lot of good came out of it too. He has credited one particular stripper with helping him to change his life by suggesting an acting coach.
Says Brad" “This girl – I’d never met her before – was in an acting class taught by a man named Roy London.” It seems that at the time London was a really famous acting coach.
“I went and checked it out," Brad has said, "and it really set me on the path to where I am now.” The young Pitt started studying with London almost straight away.
He has said that the gig as a chauffeur changed his life, for the better. No word on what became of the stripper who suggested Roy London.
On a less glamourous level, he also worked as a furniture mover and well remembers lugging heavy refrigerators around. He hated it big time. But there was rent to be paid, not to mention food and those all-important lessons.
Okay, now we're going to get really goofy.
Perhaps the weirdest job or all was when he donned a chicken outfit and was the mascot for an El Pollo Loco restaurant. According to Digital Spy, he danced around in a chicken costume, handing out flyers. On hot summer days, it was not much fun.
Early Signs Of A Break Through
Working with Roy London gave Brad credibility in acting circles. Within a year or so of hitting Hollywood, he was doing uncredited roles in movies like 1987's No Way Out. That led to credited roles in TV shows like Another World and Growing Pains. He was finally finding his feet in Hollywood. Brad's good bud Leonardo DiCaprio also appeared in Growing Pains, but not at the same time as Brad did.
His breakout role came in 1991 in Thelma & Louise. He was a fun-loving hitchhiker with a tendency to peel off his shirt. And the rest, as they say, is history.