Brad Pitt said no to ‘Brokeback Mountain’ in fear of being shunned by Hollywood

Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are two actors who have a number of films under their belt and have portrayed versatile roles.

However, there was one film that left both the A-listers as well as others, fearing for their careers: Brokeback Mountain.

While the film catapulted Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal to fame, Pitt and DiCaprio missed that opportunity in fear of their careers ending owing to its unconventional tale about homosexuality.

Director Gus Van Sant, who was initially asked to helm the film, revealed in an interview how the story was so controversial that nobody from the likes of Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon or Ryan Philippe was interested in accepting the role.

“Nobody wanted to do it. I was working on it, and I felt like we needed a really strong cast, like a famous cast. That wasn’t working out. I asked the usual suspects: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Ryan Phillippe. They all said no,” Sant told IndieWire.

The film was eventually directed by Ang Lee and bagged three Academy Awards in the year 2006.