Bulging muscles, tight Spartan outfit, radiant blond locks... In Wolfgang Petersen's film Troy, Brad Pitt plays everything he hates. He embodies the ancient hero Achilles in a blockbuster at the age of 40, just five years after Fight Club.
Ironically, Brad Pitt injured his own Achilles tendon when filming Troy. He spent over six months working out in a routine explicitly configured for the role. After bulking up enough and not long after filming began, the actor ruptured his Achilles tendon during one of the movie's many stunts.
His acting career began at age 23 in 1987 with roles in the hit Fox television series 21 Jump Street. He subsequently appeared in episodes for television shows during the late 1980s and played his first major role in the slasher film Cutting Class (1989).
Actually, partially because of American critics and audiences passing the film off as mediocre, Troy was viewed as a box office flop. The film took home just $133 million in its domestic gross, not even earning back its production budget.
Years later, Brad Pitt expressed disappointment with the film, saying: "I had to do Troy because [...] I pulled out of another movie and then had to do something for the studio. So I was put in Troy. It wasn't painful, but I realized that the way that movie was being told was not how I wanted it to be.
How much weight did Brad Pitt gain for the movie Troy?
Brad went from approximately 160 lbs. in Fight Club to 185 lbs in Troy, which means he had some serious muscle to build and weight to gain. As a thin guy with a very low body fat percentage, Brad's metabolism most likely operated faster than the speed of light.
Menelaus and Helen then returned to Sparta, where they lived happily until their deaths. According to a variant of the story, Helen, in widowhood, was driven out by her stepsons and fled to Rhodes, where she was hanged by the Rhodian queen Polyxo in revenge for the death of her husband, Tlepolemus, in the Trojan War.
The film is true to the work of Homer and Ancient Greek mythology in that it shows Helen's departure from Sparta, whether willing or otherwise, as the act that provoked the Greeks to go to war. While it accurately shows Paris in love with Helen, it strays from the original when it comes to the character's fate.
Much of it is no doubt fantasy. There is, for example, no evidence that Achilles or even Helen existed. But most scholars agree that Troy itself was no imaginary Shangri-la but a real city, and that the Trojan War indeed happened.
I'm only two years older than Brad Pitt, but I look a lot older, which used to greatly frustrate me. It doesn't anymore. I don't have to fit into that category and get trounced by Tom Cruise and Brad.
Brad Pitt is the latest star to go back on his Christian beliefs. May 19, 2011 — -- For some stars brought up in the Christian faith, the lessons of the Bible proved futile. At the Cannes Film Festival, Brad Pitt revealed his reservations with his "stifling" Christian upbringing.
Obviously, there are very few movie stars bigger in the world than 56-year-old Pitt and 45-year-old DiCaprio. Interestingly enough, the two had a common start in Hollywood -- both guest-starred on the family sitcom Growing Pains, though they never shared a scene together.
Whether or not the tendon's treatment was surgical, normal walking usually resumes in about 3 months. For those who play sports at an elite level, full recovery may range from 6-12 months.
Whether treated surgically or nonsurgically, recovery from a ruptured Achilles typically takes a few months. This includes rehab, which is crucial to a full recovery. Most people who have sustained a ruptured Achilles tendon and get medical treatment have a very good chance of a positive outcome.
Research shows that non-operative treatment of Achilles tendon tears can heal the injury just as well as surgery when treated early; however, research also shows a slightly higher re-rupture rate and increased weakness with non-operative treatment.
To conclude, Troy was real, Helen was likely not, and the Trojan War — if it did happen — was not the 10-year-long epic that Homer described. Nevertheless, these stories have already lasted for millennia, and will likely last as long as humanity does.
How does Achilles die? Achilles is killed by an arrow, shot by the Trojan prince Paris. In most versions of the story, the god Apollo is said to have guided the arrow into his vulnerable spot, his heel. In one version of the myth Achilles is scaling the walls of Troy and about to sack the city when he is shot.
Director's Cut runs 196 minutes and features extended and deleted scenes, enhancing plot and character development, as well as featuring more sex and violence. The television edit cuts away from every blow, never showing anyone getting stabbed or receiving any injury until after the carnage is over.
Helen and Paris had three sons, Bunomus, Aganus, Idaeus and a daughter also called Helen. The three sons died during the Trojan War, when an earthquake caused the roof of the room where they slept to collapse.
After Paris was killed, his brother Deiphobus married Helen. Laurie Macguire, writing in "Helen of Troy From Homer to Hollywood," lists the following 11 men as husbands of Helen in ancient literature, proceeding from the canonical list in chronological order, to the 5 exceptional ones: Theseus. Menelaus.
After the events of the Iliad, when the Greeks finally sack the city of Troy, Hector's son Astyanax is thrown from the walls the city. Andromache becomes the concubine of the man who kills Astyanax: Neoptolemus, Achilles' son. After Neoptolemus' death, Andromache marries Helenus, Hector's brother.
Brad Pitt and Eric Bana did not use stunt doubles for their epic duel. They made a gentlemen's agreement to pay for every accidental hit; $50 for each light blow and $100 for each hard blow. Pitt ended up paying Bana $750, and Bana didn't owe Pitt anything.
Most filming took place in Malta, where Fort Ricasoli and Mellieħa were used to depict ancient Troy and the surrounding area. In addition, shots were filmed in Mexico's Cabo San Lucas and the island of Comino for some of the more exotic locations featured.
Brad Pitt's age during the filming of Troy was 40 years old. Born on December 18, 1963, Pitt was in his early forties when he took on the role of Achilles.
