Pitt plays the former investigator crossing a collapsing world in World War Z, a role built on procedure rather than heroics: he interviews, deduces and travels, and the film's tension comes from institutional failure rather than from combat. He also produced the film through his own company.
He became internationally known through a supporting role in a road film and moved quickly into leads, but his choices have consistently favoured demanding directors over conventional star vehicles. His production company has become one of the more significant forces in American independent and prestige cinema.
Recurring subjects: competence without vanity, men defined by physical ease, and characters who are less certain than they appear. He is comfortable playing supporting parts and comic roles, and he has repeatedly taken performances that undercut his own image rather than serving it, which is rare at his level of visibility.
He has won Academy Awards both as a producer and as a supporting actor, an unusual combination, and the films his company has backed include several major award winners. His career is a common example of a star using commercial power to fund work that would not otherwise be made.
For viewers who want a lead willing to be unglamorous. Suited to anyone interested in the outbreak film's procedural approach, and to those curious about the production work behind a great deal of recent American cinema.
