Brad Pitt | No 5 | Film Power 100
Actor: Inglourious Basterds, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Producer: Kick-Ass, A Mighty Heart, The Departed
You may not think Brad Pitt, 46, matters much as an actor any more, even if he was always a more interesting performer than his good looks would have you believe – his disregard for vanity lives on in his buffoonish turn in the Coens' Burn After Reading. He was the least impressive member of the Inglourious Basterds cast, close to unnecessary in the already throwaway Ocean's trilogy of caper-comedies, and hardly to be blamed in the enormous folly that was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. On the other hand, he walked off with the Venice best actor award for The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford. And still the man has unparalleled power and influence in Hollywood. The monstrous hybrid that is Brangelina may be a threat to any actorly integrity, but it helps keep him his celebrity status when hit movies are thin on the ground. He was in danger of acquiring a reputation as a getaway man, having walked away from The Fountain and State of Play, nearly scuppering both films. But now he has a high-fibre release coming up – opposite Sean Penn in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, on which he also takes a producing credit. Indeed, it is as part of his production company Plan B Entertainment that he is pursuing some interesting choices: he produced or executive-produced Kick-Ass, The Time Traveller's Wife, A Mighty Heart, The Assassination of Jesse James and The Departed. And he knows a solid middle-of-the-road hit when he sees one: he also backed the Julia Roberts vehicle Eat Pray Love.