Brad Pitt shared with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this month how his earlier screen time involved him playing an extra in a Charlie Sheen movie. He recalls recalls playing a waiter where his only task was to pour drinks. The “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” star took upon himself to make himself seen by adding in a line to earn his Screen Actors Guild card.
“I thought, I’m going to try it,” Pitt recalled. “And so I went, ‘Would you like anything else?’ And I heard the first assistant director go, ‘Cut! Cut! Cut!’ And he said, ‘If you pull that again, you’re out of here.’ So I didn’t get (the SAG card) then.”
However, Pitt at that point gave himself an opportunity that eventually led to his decades long career in Hollywood. Taking a cue from this one example, here are three ways to create your next opportunity.
Speak up— Brad Pitt adding a line in a movie where he was an extra, didn’t sit too well with the director, but it gave him the energy to believe he could do more than what his job at that time required. Voice the things you want in life so others can at least hear it. You may tick off a few people along the way who don’t care for your boldness, but this makes a difference in you becoming the next best actor, business leader, influencer, and more.
Form Great Relationships in Your Industry— Pitt’s big break didn’t happen on the spot playing movie extras. No one noticed him before, and he wasn’t the lead man gracing magazine covers or granting exclusive interviews. It was his role as the “parole-violating charmer” in the 1991 film, “Thelma & Louise that put him on the map. Pitt gave credit to Geena Davis (Thelma) and director Ridley Scott for taking a chance and offering him the part. Relationships can turn into golden opportunities for anyone in any industry trying to get their foot in the door, and this can include an immeasurable amount of resources through building a decent rapport with your fellow peers.
Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously— Pitt is known for cracking jokes at any given time. He’s done so this awards season with everything from poking fun at his award-winning role not being a far stretch from his personal life to Megxit. Pitt seems to have created a new level of interest for himself. Not to mention, it adds to his down to earth personality. Who doesn’t like someone they can relate to through mishaps, sometimes our best opportunities come from mistakes we are open to sharing with others because of, course, we learned and grew from that part of our lives. Perhaps Pitt can say his personal life helped him to land the role that has garnered numerous awards leading to the Oscars. In your everyday world, allow yourself to look at setbacks, embarrassing moments, and learned lessons as a creative force for your next big project no matter what field you’re in, and know you can always provide a few teachable moments and a joke or two along the way.
By BSM Team
Feature photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
