‘Bullet Train’ director admits he was shocked Brad Pitt agreed to star

Brad Pitt has been one of Hollywood’s most prolific actors for decades now, so when he agreed to star in Bullet Train, director David Leitch was admittedly over the moon. 

In a chat with Collider, Leitch shared the moments leading up to reaching out to the Academy Award winner, from receiving the script to pitching the actor to Sony boss, and he couldn’t believe his luck.

“I was as shocked as you are right now. Yes, I’ve known him for a long, long time, but to get Brad Pitt on a movie is like lightning in a bottle. And so, when Kelly brought me Bullet Train and I read it, and we were like, “Oh, okay. I’m in, I’m in. Kelly, I’m in. Okay, we’ll figure out the characters. Okay, Ladybug, it’s Brad. It’s got to be Brad.” And talking to Sanford Panitch, they had done a bunch of movies with Brad together, and he’s like, “We can do it. We can get him. We can get him.” And I’m like, “Can we?” And it was a lot of anxiety sending it over. I just was like, “Is he going to want to do it? It’s so crazy and wacky and irreverent, and I don’t know.” And I’m like, “I just don’t want to waste his time.” And Sanford’s like, “I’m doing it, I’m doing it.”

He also revealed that Pitt fell in love with the character, and was also eager to take on the role, much to his delight.

“So Sanford sent it. I wasn’t even necessarily ready. And then boom, they got it. Brad threw the script to the wolf, and that’s how he tells the story. He’s like, he was in. He was laughing his ass off, he saw Ladybug, he’s like, “I can play this guy. Oh, and it’s David. I want to do something with him. And I have a window. This feels great.” And so, he called me and said, “Leitch, I think we’re doing this thing. You want to do it? Let’s do it.” It was really kind of a surreal moment. As good of a friend as he is, it’s still surreal, like, “Oh, now… I’ve been working with Brad for so long, supporting him as a stunt double, building characters, now he’s going to build this character that supports me as a filmmaker.” It’s pretty awesome.”

Leitch and Pitt have worked together on several projects, with the former acting as the latter’s stunt double. It’s pretty sweet that even though the two are friends, there is a mutual professionalism and respect they have for each other. 

Bullet Train will be released in theaters on Friday, Aug. 5 and stars Pitt as Ladybug, an assassin on the verge of retirement, but pulled in for one last mission in Tokyo, Japan where he is roped into engaging other highly trained assassins.