Brad Pitt recalls eating four plates of beans for a movie scene, causing such intense flatulence that the 60-person crew fled the set in a hilarious moment.
Early in his career, Brad Pitt found himself thrust into the uncomfortable depths of Method acting on a cramped café set, only to discover that authenticity sometimes comes with unexpected—and decidedly unglamorous—side effects.
Recounting the ordeal on the “New Heights” podcast with hosts Jason and Travis Kelce, Pitt described a scene that required him to look convincingly ravenous: his character, after days without food, was handed a heaping plate of beans and bacon.
Determined to “do this right,” Pitt dove in, plate after plate, through take after take.
On the first three takes, he wolfed down each serving without incident.
The café, a sweltering, windowless space crowded with some sixty crew members, stifled everyone under hot lights and close quarters—but Pitt soldiered on, living the part.
“I just powered down this plate of beans,” he told the Kelce brothers, each recounting punctuated by their growing amusement. But by the fourth take, as Pitt recalled with a grin, his body declared mutiny.
“There was nothing I could do. I was stuck in this chair,” he admitted, describing the inevitable: a wave of flatulence so potent that it cleared the café entirely.
“Nature took its course,” he said, and then “the most diabolical something descended on the crew,” prompting every person in the room to flee in search of fresher air.
The anecdote not only highlighted Pitt’s commitment to his craft but also the humorous unpredictability of putting one’s body—and its digestive limits—to the test for art’s sake.
What makes the incident all the more ironic is how eating on camera has since become something of a hallmark in Pitt’s filmography.
From casual bites in indie dramas to elaborate feasts in blockbusters, his on-screen appetite has spawned viral content online.
One popular YouTube supercut, “15 Minutes of Brad Pitt Eating,” has amassed 2.7 million views, underscoring the odd fascination audiences have with watching a Hollywood star chew.
Yet Pitt himself remains bemused by this focus.
Despite his legendary Hollywood status, he says he still finds it “odd” that the simple act of eating has become such a defining—and so frequently replayed—aspect of his career.
