Brad Pitt to quit acting

Family man Pitt considers quitting.

This monday, the American actor Brad Pitt said in an interview he's considering retiring from acting when he turns 50, three years from now. It's a remarkable decision, and I'm more than a little saddened by this. Particularly this fall, I've been talking to a lot of my friends how I think he's a great actor and perhaps one of the best in Hollywood at the moment. Now that Johnny Depp has sold out on us, ironically Pitt seems to have turned to the completely opposite direction, only making interesting films with acclaimed directors. He'll certainly leave a lasting legacy behind him. Here's a selected list of some of the directors he's worked with:

• Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life)
• David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
• Joel & Ethan Coen (Burn After Reading)
• Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
• Andrew Dominik (Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)
• Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel)
• Guy Ritchie (Snatch.)
• Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys)
• Ridley Scott (Thelma & Louise)
• Tony Scott (Spy Game, True Romance)

That list, as well as the roles he played on those movies, is certainly is something to marvel. Being at the top of the A-list does get you access to work with some pretty amazing, visionary directors. Some other Hollywood bigshots do have almost as impressive lists:

• Matt Damon (f. ex. Clint Eastwood, The Coens, Paul Greengrass, Martin Scorsese, Terry Gilliam, George Clooney, The Farrellys)
• Tom Cruise (f. ex. Brad Bird, Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann, Paul Thomas Anderson, Brian DePalma, Martin Scorsese, Ridley & Tony Scott, Stanley frickin' Kubrick!)
• Johnny Depp (f. ex. Tim Burton obviously, Michael Mann, Robert Rodriguez, Jim Jarmusch, Terry Gilliam, Emir Kusturica, John Waters, Oliver Stone, Wes Craven)

Is this just a phenomenon of the modern superstars? With the exception of Cruise, they all are not only handsome, but talented as well. But how does this compare to more classical actors?

• Al Pacino (Christopher Nolan, Michael Mann, Brian DePalma, Francis Ford Coppola, William Friedkin, Sidney Lumet, Jerry Schatzberg)
• Dustin Hoffmann (Tom Tykwer, David O. Russell, Steven Spielberg, Sydney Pollack, Alan Pakula, Sam Peckinpah, Arthur Penn, John Schlesinger, Mike Nichols)
• Robert De Niro (Martin Scorsese obviously, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Matthew Vaughn, John Frankenheimer, Michael Mann, Brina De Palma, Terry Gilliam, Sergio Leone, Michael Cimino, Alan Parker, Francis Ford Coppola)

On second thought, if you look at those three, 50 might be just the right age to retire. So kudos for your past work, Brad, and hope we still see three years' worth of great movies. Give Fincher a call, at the very least.