Brad Pitt has finally, after years, described what he felt reading the script of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds for the very first time. When one of Hollywood’s boldest directors sits down to completely rewrite history, the script is surely going to be wild. Long before cameras ever started rolling on Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 WWII masterpiece, getting the story onto paper sparked quite a memorable journey. 

Looking back on the project, the star who brought Lt. Aldo Raine to life recently shared a hilarious, completely unfiltered story about reading the script for the very first time.

Inside Brad Pitt’s first encounter with the Inglourious Basterds script

Recalling his initial encounter with Quentin Tarantino’s electrifying screenplay for Inglourious Basterds, Brad Pitt shared with The Hollywood Reporter a hilariously unfiltered anecdote about how completely the material gripped him. Chuckling at the memory, the actor admitted that the script was so utterly absorbing that he could not even put it down during a bathroom break, awkwardly balancing the pages in one hand while managing nature’s call with the other –  a moment that served as his immediate confirmation that he was completely hooked.

Beyond the sheer page-turning intensity, Pitt praised the unique structural framework of the narrative, noting that it read more like an immersive novel than a standard blueprint. He highlighted how Tarantino expertly divided the sprawling epic into five distinct, breathing chapters that leaped across timelines and perspectives before brilliantly converging. 

“I loved that it read like a novel — you know, in the sense that there were these five distinct chapters,” said Pitt.

“I was just intrigued that he made that work. Us Americans love a revenge story as well, so that appealed too!” he added.

Reaching the explosive climax of the screenplay left the actor utterly floored by its sheer audacity, particularly regarding its rewriting of historical events. Recalling his stunned reaction upon finishing the final pages, he remembered questioning whether a filmmaker could truly get away with assassinating Adolf Hitler on screen – ultimately concluding that if the visionary auteur was willing to take the swing, the audacious creative gamble was entirely earned, per The Hollywood Reporter.

For Quentin Tarantino, discovering how deeply the star connected with the material was validation of a long-standing mutual ambition to collaborate. 

A missed early opportunity to collaborate together

Though the two had only crossed paths casually in the past, a strong professional respect had simmered between Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino for years. In fact, their creative history almost intersected much earlier than many realized. Pitt revealed in the same The Hollywood Reporter interview that back during the casting phase of Reservoir Dogs, his mentor Harvey Keitel graciously invited him to audition. However, he ultimately had to pass on the opportunity because he was already committed to filming A River Runs Through It alongside another of his lifelong acting heroes, Robert Redford.

Well, it does not matter anymore, as they did get a chance to work together on Inglourious Basterds and, with some help from the universe, Pitt was also available and very much into the script. The movie laid the foundation for their long-standing working partnership that later led to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and now The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.

Do you like Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt’s Inglourious Basterds? Do let us know.