Is there more to Brad Pitt’s spectacular awards show speeches?
Brad Pitt has emerged as this year’s award season darling thanks to his killer speeches. But is there more to them than meets the eye?
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“I’m going to add this to my Tinder profile,” Brad Pitt said of his SAG award as he opened his acceptance speech last month.
That was just one instance where the actor has poked fun at his single status in the last few weeks, as the 56-year-old emerges as the unlikely award season darling for 2020, picking up every Supporting Actor award for his role in Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood.
Pitt’s high profile love life, thanks to failed relationships with Hollywood’s most famous women including Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, is daily fodder for glossy tabloids.
And while we get our fair share of Pitt goss, we seldom hear anything from him directly – if ever.
This is making his quips all the more hilarious. For probably the first time in his three-decade long career, Pitt seems relatable. More human. As opposed to being in a completely different stratosphere from us mere mortals.
On top of jokes about singledom, Pitt has just made generally hilarious comments across the board. These are some of his best lines so far.
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GOLDEN GLOBES
At the first awards show this season, Pitt told the audience he wanted to bring his mother to the ceremony – before giving a hilarious reason as to why he didn’t.
“I wanted to bring my mum but I couldn’t because anyone I stand next to they say I’m dating them,” he said, to a roar of laughs. “It would just be awkward”.
SAG AWARDS
“I’m going to add this to my Tinder profile,” Pitt opened, before joking about his director Quentin Tarantino’s foot fetish.
“I want to thank my co-stars, Leo, Margot Robbie, Margot Robbie’s feet, Margaret Qualley’s feet, Dakota Fanning’s feet … seriously, Quentin has separated more women from their shoes than the TSA.”
He then made a joke about his marriage to Jolie, who he broke up with in 2016, making reference to his character, Cliff.
“Let’s be honest, it was a difficult part. Guy who gets high, takes his shirt off, and doesn’t get on with his wife? It was a big stretch.”
BAFTAS
While he couldn’t attend the BAFTAS this week, that didn’t stop Pitt from being prepared.
He instructed co-star Margot Robbie to read out his acceptance speech, and again, it was a crowd-pleaser.
Margot began, “He starts by saying, ‘Hey Britain. Heard you just became single. Welcome to the club! Wishing you the best with the divorce settlement”, another reference to his divorce with Jolie.
Speaking to a crowd of A-listers including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Robbie then read out Pitt’s Megxit joke.
“He says that he is going to name this (award) Harry because he is really excited about bringing it back to the states with him. His words, not mine,” Robbie said.
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This all leading up to the Academy Awards on Monday, where Pitt is a shoo-in for the Best Supporting Actor honour.
Here’s the thing. We’ve no doubt Pitt has probably been funny this whole time, but there’s something deeper going on here.
Awards show speeches are an art form. They are often used as a way of either propelling a career forward, reinvention or repairing a fractured reputation.
Certain speeches have even been credited to have led to Oscar nominations, which then ultimately lead to career boosters and reinvigorated commercial popularity in the millennial age.
For Pitt, this awards season has proved somewhat of a resurgence. While he is and always has been at the top of the A-list, he’s not been considered among the ranks of the top actors for some time. IE, he’s not a Leo or a Denzel.
On top of that, his personal life has been a shambles over the last decade.
Pitt, a father of six, suffered countless reports during his marriage with Jolie of having problems with alcohol and drug use.
The final straw that brought the pair undone was said to be a 12-hour flight from France to LA where Pitt had a fight with the couple’s eldest son, Maddox, reportedly prompting Jolie to file for divorce and seek sole custody.
Last year, Pitt discussed his issue with alcohol in an intimate interview, where he revealed he spent more than a year in Alcoholics Anonymous.
“I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges,” he told the New York Times.
“You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard.
“It was this safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself.
“It was actually really freeing just to expose the ugly sides of yourself. There’s great value in that.”
His role in Tarantino’s blockbuster Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood, has thrust him back onto the awards show circuit following a tumultuous period, giving him the opportunity to speak on a platform where millions of people around the world – and within the industry, are watching.
It’s why many are speculating Pitt’s speeches have been expertly crafted. Some of the names thrown around as creators of his material include Saturday Night Live stars Nick Kroll and John Mulaney.
And why wouldn’t he? It’s a golden opportunity to put the past behind him and reinvent himself.
Pitt has also been seen in adorable and affectionate moments with his ex, Hollywood sweetheart Jennifer Aniston, boosting his appeal further as a social campaign launches for them to rekindle their romance.
Sure, they’re probably great friends.
But let’s just say they probably knew there were cameras backstage whenthatreunion happened.
Originally published as Is there more to Brad Pitt’s spectacular awards show speeches?