Michael Pitt
{{short description|American actor, model, and musician}}
{{About|the American actor|the British civil servant|Michael Pitt (civil servant)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{use American English|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Michael Pitt
| image = Michaelpitt2010.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Pitt at the 5th Rome Film Festival for Boardwalk Empire, 2010
| alt = Pitt looking to the camera
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|4|10}}
| birth_place = West Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|model|musician}}
| yearsactive = 1997–present
| partner = Asia Argento (2003–2004)
Jamie Bochert (2004–2014)}}
Michael Carmen Pitt (born April 10, 1981){{cite web |url=https://www.allmovie.com/artist/michael-pitt-vn15305437 |title=Michael Pitt |author= |website=Allmovie |access-date=2023-11-05}} is an American actor, model, and musician.
In film, he has appeared in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), Bully (2001), Murder by Numbers (2002), The Dreamers (2003), Last Days (2005), Silk (2007), Funny Games (2007), I Origins (2014), and Ghost in the Shell (2017). In television, he portrayed Henry Parker in the teen drama Dawson's Creek (1999–2000), Jimmy Darmody in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2011), and Mason Verger in the second season of the NBC series Hannibal (2014).
Early life
Pitt was born in West Orange, New Jersey,via Associated Press [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/17/entertainment/main6876839.shtml "HBO's 'Boardwalk Empire:' A Dramatic Getaway – New Series Brings Prohibition-Era Atlantic City, N.J., to Life with Historical Accuracy, Lavish Detail"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918063531/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/17/entertainment/main6876839.shtml |date=2010-09-18 }}, CBS News, September 19, 2010. Accessed October 25, 2015. "Inevitably noted for his baby face, arresting blue eyes and pouty, pillowy lips, the 29-year-old West Orange, N.J., native seized on acting because, 'I liked the attention. And it kind of evolved into a craft, a skill, which was a positive thing in my life. Then I came to New York. I never really left.'" the son of Donald B. Pitt, an auto mechanic, and Eleanor Carol (née DeMaio) Pitt, a waitress.{{Cite web|url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/entertainment/0001/01/01/michael-pitts-origins-examines-science-religion/13159809/|title=Michael Pitt's 'I Origins' examines science, religion|first=Amy|last=Longsdorf|website=The News Journal|access-date=2020-07-25|archive-date=2020-12-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204145213/https://www.delawareonline.com/story/entertainment/0001/01/01/michael-pitts-origins-examines-science-religion/13159809/|url-status=live}} He has two older sisters and one older brother. Pitt is of Italian and Irish heritage on his mother's side, and of English descent on his father's. By age 16, Pitt had been to three or four high schools, among them Morris Catholic High School,[https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1265/images/sid_7514_1996_0083?usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=187555618] {{dead link|date=October 2021}} and was in "special classes" before ultimately dropping out. He also did a brief stint at the Essex County Youth House, a youth detention center.{{Cite web|url=https://observer.com/2009/06/meet-mr-pitt-and-the-missus/|title=Meet Mr. Pitt and the Missus!|website=The New York Observer |date=June 2, 2009|access-date=July 19, 2020|archive-date=July 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719070203/https://observer.com/2009/06/meet-mr-pitt-and-the-missus/|url-status=live}}
Career
=Film=
In 2001, Pitt earned a breakout role as Tommy Gnosis, the lover of a trans rock star named Hedwig, in the film Hedwig and the Angry Inch, an adaptation of John Cameron Mitchell's 1998 stage musical. Although not his first film role, Pitt's performance as Gnosis led to a series of supporting roles in many acclaimed and often controversial films, including Bully (2001), Murder by Numbers (2002), and the 2007 remake of Funny Games. One of Pitt's more notable roles was as the lead in The Dreamers (2003).
Pitt attributes his success in films to a combination of hard work and the presence of "a few angels in my life."{{Cite web|first=Liz|last=Braun|date=July 21, 2014|url=https://torontosun.com/2014/07/21/michael-pitt-questioned-his-spirituality-while-making-i-origins|title=Michael Pitt on choosing projects off the beaten path and 'I, Origins'|website=torontosun|access-date=May 1, 2021|archive-date=October 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020035800/https://torontosun.com/2014/07/21/michael-pitt-questioned-his-spirituality-while-making-i-origins|url-status=live}} He has also stressed that he chooses roles not with the hope that they will garner commercial success or to gain notoriety but to create art, challenge the audience, and ultimately contribute to a project that he is proud of:
To be honest, I make very controversial films. The films that I've made have been very, very bold choices. As the years go by, I think my work is going to come more and more in context. The truth is that you can't take what people say too seriously. If I cared what people think about my career, I would have not done—just look at my work. Don't look at me, look at what I've done. Every movie that I've picked, from my first film on, has been considered by everyone to be "career suicide." And I have an amazing life. I have an amazing career. I work with artists. But I'm not making Spider-Man.{{Cite web|url=https://www.elle.com/news/culture/michael-pitt-hot-guy-cold-drink|title=Hot Guy/Cold Drink: Cocktails and Cross-Dressing With Michael Pitt|first=Justine|last=Harman|date=July 10, 2014|website=ELLE|access-date=May 1, 2021|archive-date=January 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103042555/http://www.elle.com/news/culture/michael-pitt-hot-guy-cold-drink|url-status=live}}
In 2004, Pitt has also appeared in The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things and The Village and in 2005 starred in Last Days as a rock musician "inspired" by Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain.{{cite news|title='Last Days': Kurt Cobain in Thin Disguise|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/04/AR2005080401985.html|access-date=25 August 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=5 August 2005|author=Ann Hornaday|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304223126/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/04/AR2005080401985.html|url-status=dead}} He performed all of the songs, which closely resembled Cobain's guitar and singing styles.
On the set of Last Days, he met Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, who had been hired by 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".
In 2006, he starred in the unconventional romantic comedy Delirious as a young homeless man who befriends a celebrity photographer and falls in love with a pop singer. The movie appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. The following year, he played opposite Keira Knightley in Silk, adapted from the novel by Alessandro Baricco, as Hervé Joncour, a French silkworm smuggler, who falls in love with a baron's concubine while in Japan.
File:Steven Yeun, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Brit Marling, Michael Pitt, and Mike Cahill (12026126693).jpg with the cast and crew of I Origins]]
In 2014, Pitt juggled two starring roles, as Tommy Uva in the comedic American crime drama Rob the Mob and as a molecular biologist in search of the truth about the origins of the eye in the science fiction romantic drama I Origins.
In 2017, Pitt starred in the film Ghost in the Shell as the villainous hacker Kuze, alongside Scarlett Johansson.{{Cite web|url=https://collider.com/ghost-in-the-shell-michael-pitt-villain-laughing-man/|title=Ghost in the Shell Movie Adds Michael Pitt as the Villain|date=February 5, 2016|website=Collider|access-date=May 1, 2021|archive-date=February 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222222813/https://collider.com/ghost-in-the-shell-michael-pitt-villain-laughing-man/|url-status=live}}
=Theater=
Pitt made his Off-Broadway debut in 1999 in the play The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek at the New York Theatre Workshop.
=Television=
During his theater debut, a casting agent whom Pitt had mistaken for a police officer attempting to arrest him noticed him and recommended him for a role on the television series Dawson's Creek. He played Henry Parker on a recurring basis in the third season (1999–2000).
In 2010, Pitt was cast as Jimmy Darmody in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (about the rise of Atlantic City during the Prohibition era), as the gangster protégé of corrupt politician Nucky Thompson. He appeared in the show's first two seasons and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics's Choice Award for his performance. Pitt said of Boardwalk Empire, "I'm proud of the work we did on that show. My grandfather was an Italian-American and he met my grandmother in Atlantic City. So Jimmy Darmody spoke to me; he felt very close to home."
In 2014, he was cast in the recurring role of Mason Verger in the NBC series Hannibal{{cite web|first=Michael|last=Ausiello|authorlink=Michael Ausiello|url=https://tvline.com/news/hannibal-michael-pitt-season-2-mason-verger-489797/|title=TVLine Items: Michael Pitt Devours Key Hannibal Role, Chicago P.D.'s Shift Extended and More|website=TVLine|date=January 31, 2014|accessdate=May 24, 2025}} playing the role in the show's second season. He subsequently left and was replaced by Joe Anderson.{{Cite web|first=Natalie|last=Abrams|url=https://ew.com/article/2014/12/19/michael-pitt-exits-hannibal-joe-anderson/|title=Michael Pitt exits 'Hannibal,' Joe Anderson to replace him|website=Entertainment Weekly|date=December 19, 2014|access-date=May 1, 2021|archive-date=January 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112050439/http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/12/19/michael-pitt-exits-hannibal-joe-anderson/|url-status=live}}
=Music=
File:Michael Pitt 1 (Live in Madrid 2007).jpg in Madrid in 2007]]
Pitt sang and played guitar in his band, Pagoda, whose self-titled debut album was released by Universal/Fontana/Ecstatic Peace in 2007.Pagoda (album)
Under the title Jimi Pitt and the Twins of Evil, Pitt performed "Hey Joe" with the Twins of Evil for The Dreamers soundtrack.{{cite web|title=The Dreamers Soundtrack |url=http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/The+Dreamers+Soundtrack/5678512 |work=Grooveshark |access-date=25 August 2012 |author=Grooveshark |year=2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329002832/http://grooveshark.com/ |archive-date=29 March 2014 }}
=Directing=
In January 2015, Pitt made his official directorial debut with a campaign film for fashion label Rag & Bone's Spring 2015 collection. The video features Pitt and prior co-stars actress Astrid Bergès-Frisbey—the new face of Rag & Bone womenswear—and British actor Stephen Graham, Pitt's Boardwalk Empire and I Origins. Says Rag & Bone co-head, Marcus Wainwright, "[Pitt]'s a really talented actor and musician, and he came to us with this concept of doing a film-based campaign. We thought it was awesome and well worth trying."{{cite web|last1=Johnson|first1=Noah|title=Style.com|url=http://www.style.com/trends/industry/2015/rag-bone-spring-2015-campaign-michael-pitt|website=Style.com|access-date=2015-03-11|archive-date=2015-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320192312/http://www.style.com/trends/industry/2015/rag-bone-spring-2015-campaign-michael-pitt|url-status=live}} Pitt has also directed a number of music videos for Pagoda.
In 2020, he revealed he had recently directed a film in Italy called Nocturnal, although there is no release date set yet.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/run-with-the-hunted-michael-pitt-interview/|title=Run With the Hunted: Michael Pitt On Character & Career + An Exclusive Clip|date=June 29, 2020|website=CBR|access-date=July 22, 2020|archive-date=July 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712142936/https://www.cbr.com/run-with-the-hunted-michael-pitt-interview/|url-status=live}}
=Modeling=
Pitt has modeled for numerous designer campaigns. In 2012, he was named the face of Italian fashion house Prada and modeled their menswear line. He was also featured in two separate Rag & Bone campaigns prior to the release of his self-directed campaign—once for Fall/Winter 2013, with French actress Léa Seydoux,{{Cite web|url=https://www.elle.com/news/fashion-style/rag-bone-fall-2013-campaign|title=French Beauty Léa Seydoux and Boardwalk Empire's Michael Pitt Front Rag & Bone's Fall 2013 Ads|first=Lauren|last=Levinson|date=July 15, 2013|website=ELLE|access-date=May 1, 2021|archive-date=November 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104113000/http://www.elle.com/news/fashion-style/rag-bone-fall-2013-campaign|url-status=live}} and once for Fall/Winter 2014, with actress Winona Ryder.{{Cite web|url=https://www.elle.com/news/fashion-style/winona-ryder-rag-and-bone|title=Winona Ryder Is Stunning in the New Rag & Bone Campaign|first=Sally|last=Holmes|date=August 13, 2014|website=ELLE|access-date=May 1, 2021|archive-date=January 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104022838/http://www.elle.com/news/fashion-style/winona-ryder-rag-and-bone|url-status=live}}
Personal life
Pitt had previously been engaged to Asia Argento from 2003 to 2004.{{Cite web|url=https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-argento-weds-xxx-star-asia-argento-has-wed-in-tuscany-italy-the-actress-34271235.html|title=Stock Photo - ARGENTO WEDS XXX star ASIA ARGENTO has wed in Tuscany, Italy. The actress married director Michele Civetta on|first=Alamy|last=Limited|website=Alamy|access-date=2021-03-17|archive-date=2021-05-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501171640/https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-argento-weds-xxx-star-asia-argento-has-wed-in-tuscany-italy-the-actress-34271235.html|url-status=live}} In 2009, Pitt revealed that he had been "engaged for a long time now" to model Jamie Bochert and said of her: "She's my other half." The two ended their relationship in 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://www.odalisquemagazine.com/articles/2015/05/22/bochert-malamute|title=BOCHERT BY MALAMUTE|first=Felicia|last=Eriksson|date=May 22, 2015|website=ODALISQUE DIGITAL|access-date=July 19, 2020|archive-date=July 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719013454/https://www.odalisquemagazine.com/articles/2015/05/22/bochert-malamute|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://i-d.co/article/the-fittest-boys-and-girls-in-i-d-to-dream-about-if-youre-single/|title=the fittest boys and girls in i-D to dream about if you're single|first=Tish Weinstock,i-D.|last=Staff|date=February 14, 2017|access-date=March 17, 2021|archive-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501171630/https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/pap4gz/the-fittest-boys-and-girls-in-i-d-to-dream-about-if-youre-single|url-status=live}}
=Arrests=
In July 2022, Pitt was arrested and charged with assault and petty larceny after allegedly hitting another man multiple times and taking his phone. In September, Pitt was hospitalized and deemed "emotionally disturbed" after being accused of throwing items at people from the rooftop of a building.{{Cite web |last=Sblendorio |first=Peter |date=September 15, 2022 |title='Boardwalk Empire' star Michael Pitt strapped to gurney, hospitalized after New York incident |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-michael-pitt-boardwalk-empire-hospitalized-20220915-jxx6covxwnbojpqpo5stuzm5oy-story.html |access-date=September 16, 2022 |website=The New York Daily News}}
On May 2, 2025, Pitt was arrested and arraigned at the Kings Supreme Criminal Court in Brooklyn in connection with incidents reported to have occurred between 2020 and 2021. He faces charges including two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, as well as charges of assault involving injury with a blunt object and second-degree strangulation.{{Cite web |first=Ellise|last=Shafer|title=Boardwalk Empire Star Michael Pitt Arrested on Sexual Abuse Charges|url=https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/michael-pitt-arrested-sexual-abuse-1236389609|website=Variety|date=May 7, 2025}}{{Cite web|last=Hornik |first=Caitlin |date= 7 May 2025|title=Boardwalk Empire star Michael Pitt arrested on sexual abuse charges|url= https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/michael-pitt-arrested-boardwalk-empire-dawsons-creek-b2746452.html|website=The Independent}} Pitt is alleged to have engaged in at least four incidents of sex abuse.{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boardwalk-empire-star-michael-pitt-arrested-sexual-abuse-rcna205317|title=
'Boardwalk Empire' star Michael Pitt arrested and charged with sexual abuse|first=Matt|last=Lavietes|website=NBC News|date=7 May 2025|accessdate=8 May 2025}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2" |1998
|Hi-Life |Boy Teen | |
| 54
|Dance Student |Uncredited |
| 1999
|Even Housewives in Minnesota Have Those Daydreams |Petey | |
| 2000
|John Coleridge | |
| rowspan="3" |2001
|Donny Semenec | |
| The Yellow Bird
|Stuff | |
| Hedwig and the Angry Inch
|Tommy Gnosis | |
| 2002
|Justin Pendleton | |
| rowspan="2" |2003
|Chep | |
| The Dreamers
|Matthew | |
| rowspan="3" |2004
|Finton Coin | |
| The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things
|Buddy | |
| Jailbait
|Randy | |
| 2005
| |
| rowspan="2" |2006
|Toby Grace | |
| The Hawk Is Dying
|Fred | |
| rowspan="2" |2007
|Paul |
| Silk
|Hervé Joncour | |
| 2011
|Hugo |Projectionist |Uncredited |
| 2012
|Larry | |
| rowspan="3" |2014
| |
| The Smell of Us
|Street Musician |Uncredited cameo |
| I Origins
|Ian Gray |Also executive producer |
| rowspan="3" |2015
|John McKenzie | |
| The Driver
|Carmen |Short film; also director and co-writer |
| Criminal Activities
|Zach | |
| 2016
|Jan Strook | |
| 2017
|Kuze | |
| 2018
|James Springfield | |
| 2019
|Oscar | |
| 2020
|The Last Days of American Crime |Kevin Cash | |
| rowspan="3" | 2023
|LaFontaine | |
| Day of the Fight
|Mike Flannigan | |
| Reptile
|Eli Phillips | |
| rowspan="2" |{{TableTBA}}
|You Can't Win{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} |Also producer and co-writer; post-production |
| Nocturnal
|{{TableTBA}} |Director |
=Television=
=Music video=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Artist ! Role |
|---|
| 2002
|Punk Guy |
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|685856|Michael Pitt}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitt, Michael}}
Category:American male film actors
Category:Morris Catholic High School alumni
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:Male models from New Jersey
Category:American people of English descent
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:Male actors from New Jersey
Category:Actors from West Orange, New Jersey
Category:American male stage actors