Brad Pitt has played a number of iconic roles over the course of his illustrious career, from Interview with the Vampire’s Louis de Pointe du Lac to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Cliff Booth Another one of Pitt’s many roles that’s likely to stand out is his performance as charming drifter J.D. from Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise. Fans likely remember the actor’s cool and shady demeanor, as well as his pristine bod. Well, it turns out Scott went to great lengths to make sure the actor’s physique was glowing, as the director actually spritzed Pitt down with water himself while on the set.
Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis recently reunited to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Thelma & Louise. During a recent chat, the iconic actresses discussed numerous aspects of the film, including Brad Pitt’s performance. The two stars are more than aware that he’s considered to be the “eye candy” of the movie, and both explained that Ridley Scott did whatever it took to get every ounce of “hotness” out of his star:
Susan Sarandon: I remember Geena, you coming back after the scene the next day and saying, ‘Honey, they're maybe not looking at our lighting, but Ridley was in there spritzing him down and the lighting was on him.’ They made sure he was getting every single ounce of hotness or whatever of Brad Pitt that could be.Geena Davis: That's true, that's true. Ridley was personally spraying Evian on his abs.
Ridley Scott is one of the greatest directors of our time, and it’s mostly because of his intense commitment to his craft. Sometimes that can mean workshopping actors to help them better understand their characters or doing countless takes of a scene in order to get it just right. And in other situations, dedication to your work can also mean spraying down one of your actors with water so that his body shines just right on camera.
Brad Pitt may have given viewers a few thrills with his good looks, but his body is far from the only reason that his role in Thelma & Louise works so well. Susan Sarandon continued to tell ET that once she saw him in the finished movie, she could tell the young actor would be around for a while:
When I saw the film for the first time, he did so much more with that part than what was on the page that I thought, "This guy is special." And he's a character actor -- just because he looks drop dead gorgeous -- and what he added was really clever. So, that was the first time I thought, ‘Well, this guy is really special.’ Because he brought a lot of stuff to it that wasn't in the script.
Considering the work Brad Pitt has put in over the last several decades, you can’t help but agree with Susan Sarandon’s sentiments. Like Sarandon and Geena Davis, Pitt just has “it,” and it’s no wonder at all that the young (and spritzed) actor from Thelma & Louise went on to become an Oscar-winning actor and producer.
Those who’d like to revisit Brad Pitt as J.D. or check out the performance for the first time can stream Thelma & Louise on Amazon Prime.
