Michael Pitt

This article is about the American actor. For the British civil servant, see Michael Pitt (civil servant). For the college principal, see Michael William Pitt.

Michael Pitt
Pitt in 2011 at the Critics Choice Awards.
Born	( 1981-04-10) April 10, 1981 West Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor Musician
Years active	1998–present

Michael Carmen Pitt (born April 10, 1981) is an American actor and musician. Pitt is known in film for his role in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers, and in television for his role as Jimmy Darmody in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.

Career

Theater and television

Pitt made his off-Broadway debut in 1999 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 guest role on the television series Dawson's Creek (he played Henry Parker in 15 episodes between 1999 and 2000).

Film

Pitt's breakout role as the lover of a transgender 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 and The Village, as well as the lead in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers.

Pitt next appeared in Asia Argento's The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, and headlined Gus Van Sant's Last Days, playing a rock star "inspired" by Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain. He performed all of the songs, which closely resembled Cobain's guitar and singing styles. On set, 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."^{[citation needed]}

In 2007 he starred opposite Keira Knightley in Silk, adapted from the novel by Alessandro Baricco. He played the lead role of Hervé Joncour, a French silkworm smuggler, who falls in love with a baron's concubine while in Japan. The same year he starred in the romantic comedy Delirious as a young homeless man who befriends a celebrity photographer, played by Steve Buscemi, and falls in love with a pop singer (Alison Lohman). The movie appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. His more recent films include, Funny Games, Michael Haneke's remake of his own 1997 film, alongside Tim Roth and Naomi Watts.

Return to television

He co-starred in the HBO series, Boardwalk Empire (about the rise of Atlantic City during the Prohibition era), with Steve Buscemi.

Music

Pitt sang and played guitar in his band, Pagoda, whose self-titled debut album was released by Universal/Fontana/Ecstatic Peace in 2007.

Under the title, "Jimi Pitt and the Twins of Evil", Pitt performed "Hey Joe" with the Twins of Evil for The Dreamers soundtrack.

Modeling

In 2012, Pitt was named the face of Italian fashion house Prada to model their men's clothes.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1998	Law & Order	Andy	Episode "Carrier"
1998	Hi-Life	Boy Teen
1998	54	Dance Student	(uncredited)
1999	Even Housewives in Minnesota Have Those Daydreams	Petey
1999 – 2000	Dawson's Creek	Henry Parker	15 episodes
2000	Finding Forrester	John Coleridge
2001	Bully	Donny Semenec
2001	The Yellow Bird	Stuff
2001	Hedwig and the Angry Inch	Tommy Gnosis
2002	Murder by Numbers	Justin Pendleton
2003	Rhinoceros Eyes	Chep
2003	Law and Order: SVU	Harry Baker	Episode 3.13 "Prodigy"
2003	The Dreamers	Matthew
2004	The Village	Finton Coin
2004	The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things	Buddy
2004	Jailbait	Randy
2005	Last Days	Blake
2006	Delirious	Toby Grace
2006	The Hawk Is Dying	Fred
2007	Silk	Hervé Joncour
2008	T Takes	The Guest in Room 113	Web series
2008	Funny Games	Paul
2010 – 2011	Boardwalk Empire	James 'Jimmy' Darmody	Main Role
2011	Hugo	Projectionist	Uncredited
2012	Seven Psychopaths	Larry
2013	Pinkville	Lt. William Calley
2013	You Can't Win	Jack Black	also scriptwriter and producer

External links

• Michael Pitt at the Internet Movie Database
• http://pagodapagoda.com/