William Bradley Pitt (1963– ) has worn many descriptions through the years. At his center he has always been a storyteller searching for truth. Director Gore Verbinski once called him “the coolest person on earth,” yet Pitt tends to soften praise, choosing humility and the long, steady unfolding of growth.

Born in Shawnee, Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri, Pitt left college just shy of a journalism degree and followed a quiet pull of the heart: go where the stories live. Before anyone knew his name, he worked an assortment of small jobs, including a stretch dressed as a giant El Pollo Loco chicken, “clucking” customers inside. He shares that memory with an easy grin, a reminder that beginnings rarely shine, yet they often become the most meaningful chapters.

His early acting roles on television in Head of the Class (1986) and 21 Jump Street (1987) opened a small door. His brief turn as J.D. in Thelma & Louise (1991) made audiences sit up and ask: Who is that? Yet it was A River Runs Through It (1992), directed by Robert Redford, that revealed the depth beneath the cheekbones: something tenderly aching.

From there came a sweep of memorable work: Interview with the Vampire (with Tom Cruise, 1994), Legends of the Fall (1994), and his Golden Globe–winning role in 12 Monkeys (with Bruce Willis, 1995). When Hollywood crowned him “the sexiest man alive,” Pitt let the shine fall away. “A friend of mine said they misspelled it. It was supposed to be ‘sexiest moron,’” he joked, a light way of staying grounded.

As the years went on, the work deepened. Babel, Benjamin Button, Moneyball, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Behind the camera, he continued lifting stories of justice and resilience.

Beyond Hollywood, compassion widened into action. After Hurricane Katrina, he helped create the Make It Right Foundation, shining attention on New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. The effort was hopeful, rooted in the belief that every community deserves dignity.

Lately he talks openly about healing, sobriety, and the daily art of becoming. His openness shows a man growing comfortable with life itself.