
Much like Tom Cruise’s return to the Top Gun-verse doubled as a summation of his decades-long career, Brad Pitt’s star turn in the highly anticipated Bullet Train feels like a culmination of everything he’s good at: breezy comedy, impressive action, and most of all, unparalleled charisma. Maybe what happens with A-listers of this caliber at a certain point in their career is that every project feels in conversation with ones before it.
It’s to Pitt’s credit that, 84 IMDb acting credits in, he’s continually found fresh ways to capitalize on his movie-star looks and lean into his comedic bona fides on camera (winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood, for example), all while producing prestige fare off-camera (12 Years A Slave, Moonlight, and Minari, to name just three). The guy’s pretty much never given a dull performance, as this list of his 20 best roles indicates. In fact, The A.V. Club staff had a tough time deciding which of his beloved and iconic characters couldn’t make the cut. As you prepare to board Bullet Train, read on for our favorite Pitt efforts.