Brad Pitt’s career is a testament to versatility: from anarchic icon Tyler Durden in Fight Club to suave con man Rusty Ryan in Ocean’s Eleven, and from the haunted Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds to the grief-stricken David Mills in Se7en. Yet among his many triumphs, there’s one role Pitt famously passed on that left his mother—and countless film fans—shaking their heads: Jack Swigert in Ron Howard’s Apollo 13.

A Near Miss in the Stars

When casting Apollo 13 (1995), Ron Howard and producers eyed a rising Pitt for the role of Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert. Instead, the part went to Kevin Bacon. Pitt later explained his decision as a choice between that NASA drama and a darker, more enigmatic thriller: David Fincher’s Se7en (1995).

“I was talking to my mom the other night,” Pitt recalled in an interview with The Morning Call. “And she said, ‘I just saw the best movie called Apollo 13. ’ I said, ‘Mom, I turned that down for Seven—and wait until you see it.’”

His mother’s disappointment was palpable—Apollo 13 went on to become both a critical darling and a box-office hit, earning multiple Oscar nominations and solidifying Tom Hanks’s dramatic star power.

Betting on David Fincher’s Vision

Pitt’s gamble on Se7en might have raised eyebrows at home—Fincher’s previous film (Alien³) had received mixed reviews—but the payoff was undeniable. As Detective David Mills opposite Morgan Freeman’s seasoned Detective Somerset, Pitt’s intense portrayal of obsession and desperation became one of his most celebrated performances. Se7en not only cemented his status as a leading man but also demonstrated his willingness to embrace morally complex characters.

Other High-Profile Passes

The Apollo 13 anecdote isn’t the only time Pitt weighed one iconic project against another:

• The Bourne Identity (2002)
  Before Matt Damon donned the amnesiac spy persona, Pitt was reportedly offered the starring role. However, contractual obligations to Tony Scott’s Spy Game sidelined Pitt, opening the door for Damon’s breakout performance.

• Internal Affairs → The Departed (2006)
  In 2003, Pitt and producer Brad Grey secured rights to adapt the Hong Kong thriller Internal Affairs, envisioning Pitt as Officer Colin Sullivan. As the project evolved under Martin Scorsese into The Departed, Pitt felt the leads needed fresh faces—so he passed, allowing Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon to headline.

Regrets and Reflections

Despite these near misses, Pitt shows no signs of rueing his choices. “Every role I’ve taken—and every one I’ve turned down—taught me something,” he reflected in a 2007 Interview Magazine conversation about The Departed. “Sometimes missing out on one opportunity makes room for something even bigger.”

For Pitt’s mother, however, the memory of that Apollo 13 evening lingers—a proud parent lamenting a son’s leap of faith. In hindsight, though, that leap helped define Brad Pitt’s career: a willingness to risk comfort for challenge, and to choose passion projects over guaranteed box-office gold.

In Hollywood’s game of “what if,” Pitt’s story reminds us that sometimes, the roles we don’t take shape us just as powerfully as the ones we do.