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QUIZ

Legend of the Brad

Test your knowledge of Brad Pitt

By Sean Monkman

If there is one actor today who embodies that old adage of cool — women want him, men want to be him — it’s Brad Pitt. On one hand, he’s the only two-time solo holder of People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive designation. On the other hand, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow ... need I continue?

Pitt’s early work had him tagged as a pretty boy. Over time, though, he has outgrown that limiting assessment. The actor has developed a magnetic screen presence in both Hollywood blockbusters and smaller, edgier fare. His latest performance, in Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu’s Babel, has earned Pitt some early Oscar buzz. The film goes into wide release on Nov. 10.

1. Brad Pitt shot to fame with 14 minutes as a drifter in what 1991 film?
	Point Break
	Thelma & Louise
	The Silence of the Lambs
	My Own Private Idaho
	The Prince of Tides

2. Which one of these women has he not been romantically linked with?
	Robin Givens
	Geena Davis
	Courteney Cox Arquette
	Thandie Newton
	Juliette Lewis

3. In September 2005, the paparazzi were on high alert for Pitt and Jolie’s first public display of affection when they appeared together at what Canadian tourist spot?
	The CN Tower
	West Edmonton Mall
	Niagara Falls
	Old Montreal
	The Vegreville (Al.) Pysanka, a.k.a. the world’s largest Easter egg

4. This May, Pitt became a first-time biological father when Jolie gave birth to a daughter. Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt was born at a coastal resort in what African country?
	Malawi
	Namibia
	Ethiopia
	Mauritius
	Tanzania

5. Which role earned Pitt his only Oscar nomination, for best actor in a supporting role?
	Det. David Mills in Se7en
	Johnny Suede in Johnny Suede
	Michael Sullivan in Sleepers
	Jeffrey Goines in 12 Monkeys
	Jerry Welbach in The Mexican

6. Which of these quotes about his craft was not something said by Pitt?
	“I’m a good actor, I’m consistent, but I’ll never be a great actor. Every now and then I’ll be great. Every now and then I’ll be lousy.”
	“I don’t know much about acting. I don’t know what the hell I’m doin’. I just don’t.”
	“I love acting. It is so much more real than life.”
	“They hand me a script. I act. I’m here for entertainment, basically, when you whittle everything away. I’m a grown man who puts on makeup.”
	“I’m wondering about a more spontaneous, free-form style of acting. But, I mean, it’s actor bullshit talk. It all comes out the same way.”

7. For various reasons, Pitt turned down four of the five following roles. Find the part that was never offered to him.
	Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) in Almost Famous
	Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) in The Departed
	Tom Verde (Hugh Jackman) in The Fountain
	Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) in Jerry Maguire
	Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) in American Psycho

8. In 1986, Pitt was just two credits shy of a degree from the University of Missouri when he decamped to Hollywood to try to make it as an actor. What had been his major?
	Music
	Journalism
	Architecture
	Mathematics
	Drama

9. What common thread ties Pitt’s films Legends of the Fall (1994), Seven Years in Tibet (1997) and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)?
	They were all at least partially filmed in Canada.
	In addition to his starring roles, Pitt produced all three films.
	Each one earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best actor.
	Pitt calls the films his “cowboy hat trilogy.”
	Pitt used the same high school friend as his stunt double for all three films.

10. One of these facts about Pitt is actually untrue. Find the imposter.
	He learned to fly fish for A River Runs Through It by casting off of Hollywood buildings.
	During his early days in Los Angeles, he took work dressing up as a giant chicken to promote an El Pollo Loco restaurant.
	He has called the band Radiohead “the Kafka and Beckett” of their generation.
	Pitt injured his Achilles tendon while filming Troy. He was playing Achilles.
	He drank real blood while prepping for his role in Interview With the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles. He later suggested it was “rich but salty.”