Brad Pitt has been accused of ‘volatile’ behavior on the set of his 1994 Western film Legends Of The Fall by director Ed Zwick.
In an excerpt from his new memoir, ‘Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood’, Zwick, 71, discussed his rocky relationship with the Hollywood heartthrob, 60.
The filmmaker wrote that Pitt ‘can be volatile when riled’, as per excerpt published by Vanity Fair, and ‘would get edgy whenever he was about to shoot a scene that required him to display deep emotion.’
He recalled one of their on set ‘dustups’ writing: ‘I don’t know who yelled first, who swore, or who threw the first chair. Me, maybe? But when we looked up, the crew had disappeared. And this wasn’t the last time it happened.’
A spokesperson for Pitt declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
Brad Pitt, 60, has been accused of ‘volatile’ behavior on the set of his 1994 Western film Legends Of The Fall by director Ed Zwick, 71; Pitt seen in a still from Legends Of The Fall
The filmmaker wrote that Pitt ‘can be volatile when riled’ and would ‘get edgy’ filming emotional scenes in an excerpt from his new memoir; Pictured in 2023
Pitt was cast in the role of Tristan Ludlow after Tom Cruise dropped out, though his agent allegedly called Zwick after the first table read ‘to say Brad wanted to quit.’
Producer Marshall Herskovitz eventually convinced him to stay.
‘It was the first augury of the deeper springs of emotion roiling inside Brad. He seems easygoing at first, but he can be volatile when riled, as I was to be reminded more than once as shooting began and we took each other’s measure, ‘ Zwick wrote.
‘Sometimes, no matter how experienced or sensitive you are as a director, things just aren’t working.’
‘His ideas about Tristan differed from mine,’ Zwick went on.
‘Brad had grown up with men who held their emotions in check; I believed the point of the [Legends of the Fall] novel was that a man’s life was the sum of his griefs… Yet the more I pushed Brad to reveal himself, the more he resisted. So, I kept pushing and Brad pushed back.’
He recalled on instance when he gave Pitt a direction in front of the crew, which he admitted was ‘a stupid, shaming provocation.’
‘Brad came back at me, also out loud, telling me to back off.’
‘The considered move would have been to tell the crew to take five and for the two of us to talk it out. But I was feeling bloody-minded, and not about to relent.’
‘I was angry at Brad for not trusting me to influence his performance. Also for the reluctance he’d shown after the first table read. Who knows, I might even have been acting out my own inability to be vulnerable.’
He recalled one of their on set ‘dustups’ writing they allegedly ‘yelled, swore and threw chairs’ and that it ‘wasn’t the last time it happened’; (L-R) Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz and Pitt in 2015
Pitt was cast in the role of Tristan Ludlow after Tom Cruise dropped out, though his agent allegedly called Zwick after the first table read ‘to say Brad wanted to quit’
‘He seems easygoing at first, but he can be volatile when riled, as I was to be reminded more than once as shooting began and we took each other’s measure, ‘ Zwick wrote; Pitt and Anthony Hopkins seen in a still
‘But Brad wasn’t about to give in without a fight. In his defense, I was pushing him to do something he felt was either wrong for the character, or more “emo” than he wanted to appear onscreen.’
He then detailed a moment where they allegedly yelled, swore and threw chairs.
‘Eventually the crew grew accustomed to our dustups and would walk away and let us have it out. “We hate it when the parents fight,” said one.’
Zwick shared that though they would ‘blowup’ at each other, they would later ‘make up and mean it.’
The director went on to state that Pitt is ‘a forthright, straightforward person, fun to be with and capable of great joy. He was never anything less than fully committed to doing his best.’
When the film was completed and Zwick shared the final cut with the actor, he wrote that Pitt ‘wasn’t pleased’ and ‘felt I’d underplayed his character’s madness.’
Zwick alleges he had only cut one shot from a scene of Tristan suffering with fever, but that ‘it was a shot he dearly loved, and it would have been little enough to leave it in, and I should have.’
The director then jokingly added that Pitt ‘was also unhappy when People named him “Sexiest Man of the Year” — something for which I take neither credit nor blame.’
When the film was completed and Zwick shared the final cut with the actor, he wrote that Pitt ‘wasn’t pleased’ and ‘felt I’d underplayed his character’s madness’
Zwick (seen in 2019) shared that though they would ‘blowup’ at each other, they would later ‘make up and mean it’
Legends of the Fall had Pitt starring opposite Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas, and was based on Jim Harrison’s novella.
The film, which was nominated for three Academy Awards and won for cinematography, follows three brothers and their father living on the plains of Montana in the early 20th century.
Though he is known for his laid-back public persona, Pitt has previously been accused of volatile behavior by ex-wife Angelina Jolie, 48.
The famous exes – who began dating in 2005 and tied the knot in 2014 – became embroiled in one of the most publicized legal battles in Hollywood history after their split, which saw them tussling over custody of their six children.
In August 2016, after 11 years together, Brad and Angelina shocked the world when they announced that they were going their separate ways.
Their marriage came to an explosive end after the pair got into an alleged physical altercation while on a private flight with their children.
Sources told TMZ at the time that Brad ‘got wasted’ and ‘went wild, screaming and getting physical with the kids.’
Angelina later claimed that Brad ‘choked’ one of the children during the horrifying dispute and ‘struck’ another in the face, leaving her and the kids feeling like ‘hostages’ and towering in fear under a blanket for hours until they landed.
Though he is known for his laid-back public persona, Pitt has previously been accused of volatile behavior by ex-wife Angelina Jolie, 48; They are seen in 2006
Their marriage came to an explosive end in 2016 after the pair got into an alleged physical altercation while on a private flight with their six children; Seen in 2006
She also alleged that he grabbed her by the head, slammed her against a wall, and violently shook her at one point during the flight – which resulted in her injuring her back and elbow.
The pair share three adopted children: Maddox, 22, Zahara, 19, and Pax, 20; as well as three biological children: Shiloh, 17, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 15.
After a lengthy investigation, the FBI ultimately cleared Brad of all child abuse allegations in November 2016.
Brad’s rep called Angelina’s account ‘completely untrue’ to CNN at first, but then released an amended statement to the publication that read, ‘Angelina’s story continues to evolve each time she tells it.
‘Brad has accepted responsibility for what he did but will not for things he didn’t do.’
Source:https://www.dailymail.co.uk