Whether carving swastikas into the foreheads of Nazi’s or perfecting his I-talian, Brad Pitt made viewers squirm and laugh with equal ease as Nazi hunter Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglorious Basterds, dispensing Quentin Tarantino’s patented dialogue through a hick-thick southern accent in an entirely different WWII movie that re-wrote history one bloody moment at a time.

It was fitting that Pitt played infamous outlaw Jesse James in Andrew Dominick’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, a meditation of celebrity and death in the closing years of the wild west. Whether robing trains or deep in the throes of melancholy, Pitt’s portrayal of James gave humanity – vulnerable and cruel – to a legend, and bolstered Pitt’s late career repertoire as an effective actor of deep emotional range.

Although a minor role in an ensemble packed with A-grade talent (Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken), Pitt’s performance as stoner/slacker/unintentional snitch Floyd in Tony Scott’s True Romance was one of unexpected hilarity, proving no matter how small the part Pitt will make you remember him after the credits role.

Marking his first collaboration with director David Fincher, Se7en cemented Pitt’s reputation as actor willing to take on dark and gritty material, with this film about a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as inspiration, as dark as they came. Pitt in turn provided a stellar performance as a temperamental cop whose black and white view of the world is forever altered.

Pitt’s recent work has shown an actor able to portray wisdom with soulful ease. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button saw Pitt portray such ability in his role of a Louisianan man who ages backwards. Great makeup and CGI provided the visual exterior, yet it was Pitt who infused this curious creation with heart, soul and knowledge as both an old man with an innocent heart and a young man with a seasoned, withered spirit.

The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick’s meditation on faith, family and creation - was not only a visual marvel; it also provided many memorable performances. Chief among them was Pitt’s turn as Mr. O’Brien, the stern disciplinarian who epitomised nature’s “survival of the fittest” mechanism.

Pitt exceptionally portrays the bitterness and temperament that is a part of Mr. O’Brien’s being. Yet there is also that tenderness which reveals itself from time to time, not least in its emotional conclusion where a father’s embrace of his son had tears flowing.

Of the many weapons in Pitt’s acting arsenal, his ability to play understated is a powerful one. It took many years to perfect and Pitt let it fly as baseball manager Billy Beane in Moneyball, that “baseball movie with no baseball” that saw Pitt officially fill the role of the new Robert Redford in a masterful performance as a man who had the world on his shoulders, yet with ingenuity, stubbornness and street smarts turned that world upside down, shook it up and made it anew. That Pitt delivered a superstar performance without one moment of grandstanding is proof of a masterful actor at work.

The role that proved Pitt was more than just a pretty boy, Jeffrey Goines was the exact type of supporting part that Pitt needed to sink his teeth into: a crazed radical with monkeys on his brain and not a hint of smouldering sexuality.

With nuthouse ringleader Terry Gilliam directing 12 Monkeys, Pitt was in the company of a director who embraced sticking it to conventions and Pitt complied, delving into his madman role with a controlled chaos that had him entertainingly and disturbingly banging off the walls and onto best supporting actor ballads.   

The last time Pitt took on an Irish accent was in The Devil’s Own, and reaction was less than flattering. Makes sense then that director Guy Ritchie would cast Pitt as bare knuckle boxing gypsy Mickey in the crime romp Snatch. After all, if an over the top Irish/English/something accent is what you need, then Pitt is your man.

Yet it’s not the intentionally and entertainingly inaudible accent that made Mickey one of the jewels in Pitt’s crown (although it helps), it’s also the spectacularly self-effacing, charming, physical and emotive way that Pitt portrays this memorable part, stealing scenes in a film filled with larger than life characters.     

Pitt’s turn as bad-ass revolutionary Tyler Durden in David Fincher’s Fight Club was not only a great performance, it was also a masterful piece of pop art.

Outside and in, Pitt delivered his most complete performance that was as influential as it was entertaining, with Tyler Durden becoming the symbol of a new machismo refusing to be confined to the limits of materialism…by beating the crap out of fellow man.

Playing the ying to Edward Norton’s yang, Fight Club cemented Pitt’s reputation as a thinking man’s superstar not interested in box office dollars and glossy marketing but in character and story. In short, Fight Club was the film that saw Pitt become one of Hollywood’s best leading men in terms on quality of work, and as actor and producer who has not looked back since.