“People wanted to come near me and touch me”: Monty Python Director Turned Down Tom Cruise for Movie That Won Brad Pitt His First Ever Oscar Nomination
Terry Gilliam’s sci-fi drama 12 Monkeys is one of the best performances of Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis. The 1995 movie is one of the best time travel fantasies in Hollywood. Not many people know that the filmmaker had said no to the Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise to rope in Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys.
The sci-fi drama went on to become a huge critical and commercial success and brought out the different aspects of Bruce Willis’ acting prowess as before this he had been the face of the action drama franchise Die Hard.
Terry Gilliam Chose To Go Ahead With Bruce Willis And Brad Pitt Over Megastar Tom Cruise
In the oral history of 12 Monkeys published by the media outlet Inverse in 2021, the Monty Python and the Holy Grail Director Terry Gilliam spoke about his much-hyped project 12 Monkeys. From talking about the plot, cast, and what led to the inclusion of Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis into the project, the filmmaker discussed almost everything. He said-
“The pressure was to get a movie star in. That was at a time when I was still a hot director, so people wanted to come near me and touch me. So they were coming up with all these names. And I just kept saying no. Tom Cruise, Nic Cage, they were all being thrown at me.”
While talking about going ahead with Bruce Willis for the character of the protagonist, the British filmmaker further added-
“I had never been a great fan of Bruce’s before, but I liked talking to him, and I thought, ‘OK, this guy’s smart; he’s funny,’ ‘I explained to him my concerns about him as an actor. I hated the Trumpian mouth he does in films. Rectal. It’s like I’m looking at somebody’s a**hole.”
According to the oral history of 12 Monkeys, Brad Pitt had expressed his interest in playing the character of James Coles. As The Sixth Sense actor was already signed for the role, Terry Gilliam had to convince the American actor to stay with the project. Little did he know that he would end up earning his first-ever Academy Award nomination for Terry Gilliam’s time travel-based action-adventure drama for best supporting role.
Terry Gilliam Was All Praises For Bruce Willis And Brad Pitt
Showcasing an actor in a different character, something they have not done before, and extracting the best out of them is not every filmmaker’s cup of tea. However, Terry Gilliam took a chance with Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt for his much-acclaimed movie 12 Monkeys. During an interview with the Kentucky New Era in 1995, the director revealed that both the actors worked hard to get into the skin of the complicated characters. He said-
“Both Brad and Bruce were trying to do something they don’t normally do. I liked the idea of changing the audience’s idea of what these guys were capable of … I [told Willis], ‘You’ve got to come here basically naked; you can’t come with all the entourage, the trappings of the superstar. This character [James] is basically alone; that’s his nature.'”
Terry Gilliam was all praises for both the actors and even mentioned that the Die Hard star had worked his “worked his a– off” to embody the character of James Cole, a prisoner who is sent for a time travel mission. He said-
“Bruce was concerned whether the baggage he brought to the film was going to be detrimental to it and in some ways a dangerous thing. People who come for a Bruce Willis film are going to be disappointed because they are not going to get what he normally delivers. He was desperately feeling he wanted to escape the trap of success.”
With Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis’ spectacular performances along with Terry Giliam’s cinematic brilliance 12 Monkeys went on to become a great commercial and critical success. The sci-fi time-traveling drama was way ahead of its time. 12 Monkeys went on to make $168.8 million worldwide against a budget of $29.5 million.
12 Monkeys is currently available on Apple TV.
