MICHAEL PITT

'Michael Carmen Pitt' (born April 10, 1981 in West Orange, New Jersey) is an American actor.

Contents

Biography

Selected filmography

Trivia

References

External links

Biography

Born in West Orange, New Jersey, Pitt is the youngest of four children. At age 10, he announced to his parents that he wished to become an actor. He moved to New York City from New Jersey when he was 16 years old, where he took a job as a bike messenger and lived in a one-bedroom apartment with nine others. During this period, Pitt spent time living on the streets near the New York University recreation center.
In 1999, Pitt made his off-Broadway debut in the play ''The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek'' at the New York Theatre Workshop. A casting agent, whom Pitt mistook as a police officer attempting to arrest him, noticed him and recommended him for a role on the television series ''Dawson's Creek''. His breakout role as the lover of a transgendered rock star in ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' in 2001 led to supporting roles in ''Bully'' and in mainstream Hollywood fare such as ''Murder by Numbers'', as well as the lead in Bernardo Bertolucci's ''The Dreamers''. His role in The Dreamers was notable in that he had several full frontal nude scenes, including one close-up scene, which is very rare for American actors.
In ''Last Days'', he plays a rock star based on Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain. He performed all of the songs himself and closely resembles Cobain's guitar and singing styles. On set, he met Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, who had been hired by Gus Van Sant to serve as the film's music consultant. The pair formed a close bond, with Moore writing, "[Gus] wanted me to hang out with Michael and talk about his character, and let him be in character. We ended up spending a lot of time together. My daughter Coco still relates to Michael as Blake from Last Days." ^[1]
In 2007, he will star opposite Keira Knightley in ''Silk'', adapted from the novel by Alessandro Baricco. He will play the lead role of Hervé Joncour, a French silkworm smuggler who falls in love with a baron's concubine while in Japan. Filming began in mid-2006.
He also stars in the romantic-comedy ''Delirious''. He plays the lead role of Toby Grace, a homeless, young man who befriends paparazzi member Les Galantine (Steve Buscemi) and falls into the celebrity lifestyle when he meets and falls in love with pop singer K'harma Leeds (Alison Lohman). The movie appeared at the Sundance Film Festival.
He sings and plays guitar in his band Pagoda, whose self-titled debut album has been released by Universal / Fontana / Ecstatic Peace.

Selected filmography

Year	Film	Role
2008	''Funny Games (2007 film)''	Paul
2007	''Pericle''	Frank White
	''Silk''	Hervé Joncour
2006	''Delirious''	Toby Grace
	''The Hawk Is Dying''	Fred
2005	''Last Days''	Blake
2004	''The Village''	Finton Coin
	''The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things''	Buddy
	''Jailbait''	Randy
2003	''Wonderland''	Gopher
	''Rhinoceros Eyes''	Chep
	''The Dreamers''	Matthew
2002	''Murder by Numbers''	Justin Pendleton
2001	''Bully''	Donny Semenec
	''Yellow Bird''	Stuff
	''Hedwig and the Angry Inch''	Tommy Gnosis
2000	''Finding Forrester''	John Coleridge
1999	Even Housewives in Minnesota Have Those Daydreams''	Petey
1998	''Hi-Life''	Boy Teen
	''54''	Dance Student (uncredited)

Trivia

★ With the Twins Of Evil, he performed "Hey Joe" which can be heard in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers.

★ Has stated that ''My Own Private Idaho'' is his favorite film.

★ Some may believe that he and professional wrestler James Guffey, better known as Jimmy Rave, look alike.

★ Appeared with then-girlfriend Alexis Dziena in the 2002 video for Joey Ramone cover of "What a Wonderful World."

★ Purported to be a close friend of enigmatic author, JT LeRoy. His name appears in the acknowledgements of ''The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things'' and has gone on to play a role in the film adaptation.

★ A leading member of The Eastsiders, the group of New York actors that formed in the loft of Lori Eastside's NYC Casting loft. The group also included Alexis Dziena, Ryan Donowho, and Rodrigo Lopresti.

References

1. Interview at UKULA by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth

External links

★

★ www.pagodaonline.com