Movie stars Brad Pitt and George Clooney play the leads in Apple TV+’s new film, Wolfs, and their respective ages bear some importance to the movie’s plot. Pitt & Clooney lead the Wolfs cast as two lone fixers who are brought on to the same job, forcing them to put their grievances aside and work together. In their line of work, anonymity is crucial, and they’ve spent decades working the job without knowing anyone else, making their meeting in the movie all the more impactful for both of them.
Throughout the movie, Brad Pitt and George Clooney’s unnamed characters meet the Kid (Austin Abrams), who’s crucial in shifting their perspective as events build toward the Wolfs ending. As both characters have spent their lives working jobs and growing jaded, the Kid helps to remind them of their humanity with his youthful innocence. This makes age an important element in the film as, though Jon Watts clearly wanted to have some fun with comedy, there’s an apparent, underlying thematic message in Wolfs.
Brad Pitt Was 59 Years Old While Filming Wolfs
Born On December 18, 1963
At the time of filming in early 2023, Brad Pitt was 59 years old, having been born on December 18, 1963. Wolfs began production in late 2021, but it wasn’t until early 2023 that the film started filming scenes in New York City, just a month after his birthday. Pitt had just finished doing press for his late 2022 movie, Babylon, which was met with a divisive response, making his long-awaited reunion with Ocean’s Eleven co-star George Clooney all the more important. Before Wolfs, they hadn’t worked together since Burn After Reading in 2008, and they barely shared any scenes.
Like his character, Pitt is a veteran in his industry, having begun his career in the late 1980s. The first film role that granted him recognition was in Thelma & Louise, meaning Pitt has been a major star in the industry for over three decades. He’s had good years and bad years, but he’s remained prominent fairly consistently throughout this period, having just recently won his first Academy Award for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 2019. Movies like Wolfs prove he still has star power in him, even if he’s not the individual box office draw he was in the 2000s.
George Clooney Was 61 Years Old While Filming Wolfs
Born On May 6, 1961
When Wolfs began filming in early 2023, George Clooney was 61 years old. He was born on May 6, 1961, making him Pitt’s senior by two years. Wolfs has been part of George Clooney’s return to acting wave, as he had a stretch between 2016 and 2020 without a role in a feature film. He’s only played prominent roles in three movies since 2016, having adjusted his focus to his directorial work in movies like The Boys in the Boat and The Tender Bar. As an Academy Award winner and one of the world’s most recognizable stars, Clooney has very little to prove.
George Clooney began his career before Brad Pitt as a working actor throughout the 1980s, and it wasn’t until the mid-’90s that he found his big break as the star of ER. It’s hard to say who’s had the more successful career between the two, with both contributing to so many fantastic films as stars and producers. However, Pitt has typically played second-fiddle to Clooney in their collaborations, from the Ocean’s trilogy to Wolfs.
Why Brad Pitt & George Clooney’s Ages Are So Important In Wolfs
Both Characters Are Becoming Washed Up
As much as Wolfs is a comedy film about two relatively childish fixers, it’s also an exploration of loneliness, regret, and humanity. Both characters have spent decades in their line of work with little to show for it, and it isn’t until they come face to face with one another that they realize it. It’s important that their characters are mentioned as being practically the same person, as it’s almost like they’re meeting a mirror image of themselves, allowing them to self-reflect throughout this long night of violence and conspiracy.
Despite Clooney’s character’s claims that no one else could do the job he does, it seems painfully evident that there are others like him. Beyond just Brad Pitt’s fixer, there might be younger, more capable guys doing the same job, forcing the two leads to face the possibility of being obsolete. Wolfs importantly sees these characters meeting, allowing them to connect with a person who understands the mental toll of the job and who can empathize with years spent making impossible choices and committing immoral acts.