Brad Pitt’s 10 Best Films In Honor Of His Birthday

Brad Pitt is one of the most well-known and commercially successful actors in Hollywood today. He’s an Oscar winner — though he won for producing, not acting — and has acted in just about every film genre from horror to comedy and drama. As much as Pitt is known for his movie roles though, he’s arguably in the entertainment press just as much for his high-profile romantic relationships.

We’re not here to discuss Pitt’s personal life though, this post is all about the great movies he’s given us over the last three decades. From dramas about family relationships to war epics and action comedies, here are Brad Pitt’s 10 best movies in honor of his birthday.

He’ll be 55 this December 18th. And yes, you’re getting old.

1. Fury
Release Date: 2014
Director: David Ayer
Starring: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal

There’s no shortage of great and gritty World War II movies out there. Fury certainly had some big shoes to fill but the film based on the true story of a tank crew in Europe delivered incredible wartime drama and action. Pitt plays the commander of the tank crew who finds themselves fighting for survival when they’re severely outnumbered by an approaching Nazi battalion.

2. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Release Date: 2005
Director: Doug Liman
Starring: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie

If you’re a Jennifer Aniston fan, well, this action comedy may not be your favorite. After all, it was the film that led to the breakup of Pitt and Aniston. Hollywood drama aside, the movie about two spies who happen to be married to one another is incredibly fun, sexy, and full of enough explosions to keep even the pickiest of action movie fans entertained.

3. Moneyball
Release Date: 2011
Director: Bennett Miller
Starring: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Chris Pratt

Hollywood will never grow tired of great baseball films about underdogs and Moneyball is one of the best in recent years. Based on a nonfiction book of the same name, Pitt plays the general manager of the Oakland Athletics. The team was the laughing stock of MLB and Pitt’s character makes it his mission to put together a talented team, despite having no money to make his dream a reality.

4. Se7en
Release Date: 1995
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey

As far as movies about serial killers go, this mid-90s movie has to be one of the creepiest. It’s not going to leave you feeling especially hopeful for humanity, but the twist at the end is worth the sinister ride. Pitt plays a brash cop who teams up with a veteran homicide detective, played by Morgan Freeman, to track down a killer who punishes his victims according to the seven deadly sins. It’s also the movie responsible for one of Pitt’s most quotable lines: “What’s in the box?!”

5. 12 Monkeys
Release Date: 1996
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe

Brad Pitt followed on the success of Se7en with this strange science fiction thriller. A hit with both audiences and critics, the movie follows a prisoner (Bruce Willis) who must travel back in time to stop a virus from wiping out most of the human race. Pitt plays the mental patient who happens to occupy the asylum that Will’s character is thrown into. The role would nab Pitt an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win.

6. Inglourious Basterds
Release Date: 2009
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender

Yes, we have two WWII movies with Brad Pitt on our list. Sure, we could have made room for something like Meet Joe Black or Ocean’s Eleven, but it would have been a crime not to include this Tarantino classic. As Lieutenant Aldo Raine, Pitt is in the business of killing Nazis “and business is good.” His crew of Jewish-American soldiers sets out to assassinate Hitler, one dead Nazi at a time.

7. Fight Club
Release Date: 1999
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter

Perhaps Brad Pitt’s most iconic movie in terms of its impact on pop culture, you’re sure to see Fight Club on just about any “best of the 90s” list. It’s the second movie the actor worked on with director David Fincher, and like Se7en includes a great twist at the end. As Tyler Durden, Pitt takes a disenchanted yuppie (Edward Norton) under his wing and into his underground fight club and crew of anarchists.

8. Legends Of The Fall
Release Date: 1994
Director: Edward Zwick
Starring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn

Set in the wild frontier of Montana at the beginning of the 20th century, this drama examines the connection between a father and his three sons. The movie deals with everything from the anguish of World War I to prohibition, and it snagged three Oscar nominations, winning one. With beautiful cinematography and strong performances from Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Aidan Quinn, the movie works as a postcard of the American West.

9. A River Runs Through It
Release Date: 1992
Director: Robert Redford
Starring: Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt, Craig Sheffer

It was Pitt’s brief appearance in 1991’s Thelma & Louise that caught the attention of audiences, but it was A River Runs Through It that proved he was more than a pretty face. Okay, so the film is about fishing and that may not seem like the most exciting idea for a movie. Hear us out though, while fishing is a focus for the characters, the movie is more about how the relationships between family members evolve and change as the years tick by.

10. The Tree Of Life
Release Date: 2011
Director: Terrence Malick
Starring: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain

It’s fair to say that director Terrence Malick doesn’t really make lighthearted movies. They’re often prodding us to explore the deeper meaning of life and how we all fit into the woven fabric of nature and existence. This movie about an adult man looking back on his 1950s childhood in Texas and its relationship to the universe is probably the least commercial-friendly movie on our list, but also one of Pitt’s absolute best.