Movies - TV
The Second Half Of 12 Monkeys Is A Sore Subject For Brad Pitt
By JEREMY SMITH
In the sci-fi classic “12 Monkeys,” a time-traveler from a post-apocalyptic future (Bruce Willis) tries to find the origins of the deadly virus that wiped out most of humanity. Arriving six years too early, Willis is put into a mental asylum where he meets eccentric rich kid Jeffery Goines (Brad Pitt), which leads the audience to believe Goines is the architect of humanity's downfall.
Pitt earned his first Academy Award nomination in 1996 for his role as Goines, but his performance in the film's second half still bothers him. In an interview with The New York Times, Pitt said, “I nailed the first half of ‘12 Monkeys.’ I got the second half all wrong,” explaining that the writing isn’t to blame for his trouble figuring out the character toward the film’s end.
In the movie, Goines is reintroduced years later in the second half, acting as the dutiful son of his Nobel Prize-winning virologist father, before revealing he’s a slightly deranged animal-rights activist and not humanity’s doom. Pitt doesn’t elaborate on how he would have changed his performance, though he may have toned down his character’s mania and wild hand gestures.