Brad Pitt has portrayed some of the most iconic Hollywood roles to date. One of the best performances of the actor to date can be seen in the 2005 action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Interestingly, the director Doug Liman had quite different plans than what we saw in the final cut. The initial plans would have presented us with not only a different cast but also intended to present Pitt with one of the toughest challenges.
According to the director of the 2005 blockbuster, Angelina Jolie was not the initial choice for the movie. Originally, it was one of Brad Pitt’s real-life exes and the Iron Man fame Gwyneth Paltrow who was set to star in Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
The initial plans for Mr. & Mrs. Smith would have been cruel to Brad Pitt
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is one of the most iconic action comedies ever. The movie acted as the matchmaker to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and became a huge box office hit over time. But surprisingly, it was Gwyneth Paltrow who was considered for the role of Jane Smith in the movie.
The plot of the movie featured the leads as secret assassins in competing agencies pitched against one another. Doug Liman thought that the chemistry would flesh out perfectly if Pitt is placed against one of his real exes.
“Think of the spectacle of that. Fireworks could really fly in that situation. Because I’m sure there’s some s*** one of them was mad at the other one for. You find out what that baggage is and bring it out at the right moment, with the camera rolling.”
But the idea to cast Gwyneth Paltrow didn’t work well among the producers who showed a human side to the possibility. Liman added that the producers didn’t want to place Brad Pitt in such a traumatic situation as a result of which, the idea was trashed.
“My producers were like, Look, that’s a great idea. But Brad [Pitt] is a human being. Even if he was game for it, it’s wrong for us to put him in a situation where he’s going to have to relive the demons of a relationship. That’s just a little bit too mad-scientist.”
Some names like Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett were also considered for the role of Jane Smith but Angelina Jolie won the race at the end. Surprisingly, the drama surrounding the movie didn’t end there as later Jolie also had some differences with the director.
Why didn’t Angelina Jolie go well with director Doug Liman?
In an interview with Empire, the Maleficent Fame replied that the director Doug Liman wanted to draw parallels between Mr. & Mrs. Smith’s marriage story and his own relationship story. But Angelina Jolie wasn’t up for it and had a different perspective.
“Oh, we had troubles! The movie is all about marriage, and Doug would be saying, ‘Well, in my relationship this would happen…’ And we’d all say, ‘F**k you!’ and I’d say, ‘Well, in my marriage I would never do that.'”
This led to some differences between the duo and as per reports, Liman didn’t even speak to Jolie often. Even though the Eternals star doesn’t think those arguments to be nasty, Brad Pitt had to shoot some of the Oscar-winning actor’s scenes.
Also Read: Kirsten Dunst Was Disgusted After Her First Kiss With Brad Pitt In a Vampire Movie
Mr. & Mrs. Smith was indeed a big movie for the former power couple as it not only made one of the most popular celebrity couples but also acted as a major hit in both of their careers. The movie grossed around $487 million and is even talked about to the current day.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith can be rented on Apple TV+.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
