Brad Pitt 1991 film "Across the Tracks"; Pitt portrayed Joe Maloney, a high school runner with a criminal brother, played by Rick Schroder. After years of supporting roles in film and frequent television guest appearances, Pitt attracted wider recognition in his supporting role in Ridley Scott's 1991 road film "Thelma & Louise". He played J.D., a small-time criminal who befriends Thelma (Geena Davis). His love scene with Davis has been cited as the event that defined Pitt as a sex symbol. After "Thelma & Louise", Pitt starred in the 1991 film "Johnny Suede", a low-budget picture about an aspiring rock star, and
Ridley Scott first of Scott's six collaborations with the composer Hans Zimmer. The road film "Thelma & Louise" (1991) starring Geena Davis as Thelma, Susan Sarandon as Louise, in addition to the breakthrough role for Brad Pitt as J.D, proved to be one of Scott's biggest critical successes, helping revive the director's reputation and receiving his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. His next project, independently-funded historical epic "", was a box office failure. The film recounts the expeditions to the Americas by Christopher Columbus (French star Gérard Depardieu). Scott did not release another film for four years. In