'Legends of the Fall' director Ed Zwick accuses Brad Pitt of 'volatile and edgy' behavior on 1994 film set

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Director Ed Zwick has accused Hollywood star Brad Pitt of acting in a "volatile" manner while filming his 1994 Western, 'Legends of the Fall'.

An excerpt from Zwick's recently published memoir, 'Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood', revealed details of his difficult relationship with the 60-year-old Hollywood icon.

Zwick speaks of his tumultuous relationship with starring actor Pitt, who replaced Tom Cruise in the role of Tristan Ludlow. According to reports, Zwick received a call from Pitt's agent after the first table read, saying 'Brad wanted to quit'.

Brad Pitt allegedly 'would get edgy' to shoot a deeply emotional scene

Edward Zwick, known for the romance epic that catapulted Pitt into stardom as a popular A-list actor and a handsome hunk, is publishing a new book titled 'Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood.'

According to an excerpt from the director's memoir, published by Vanity Fair, Pitt "can be volatile when riled" and "would get edgy whenever he was about to shoot a scene that required him to display deep emotion."

Zwick writes in the excerpt: "It fell to [producer] Marshall [Herskovitz] to talk Brad off the ledge. It was the first augury of the deeper springs of emotion roiling inside Brad. He seems easygoing at first, but he can be volatile when riled, as I was to be reminded more than once as shooting began and we took each other’s measure."

Pitt "would get edgy whenever he was about to shoot a scene that required him to display deep emotion," Zwick writes. "Sometimes, no matter how experienced or sensitive you are as a director, things just aren’t working."

Ed Zwick recalled one of his confrontation with Brad Pitt

Director Zwick recalls giving Pitt instructions aloud in front of the crew one afternoon on shooting, which he acknowledges was "a stupid, shaming provocation."

"Brad came back at me, also out loud, telling me to back off. The considered move would have been to tell the crew to take five and for the two of us to talk it out. But I was feeling bloody-minded, and not about to relent," Zwick writes.

"I was angry at Brad for not trusting me to influence his performance. Also for the reluctance he’d shown after the first table read. Who knows, I might even have been acting out my own inability to be vulnerable."

Pitt's agency reportedly called Zwick after the first table read, "to say Brad wanted to quit," but he was still cast as Tristan Ludlow when Tom Cruise quit.

Zwick continued, "His ideas about Tristan differed from mine. Brad had grown up with men who held their emotions in check."

"I believed the point of the [Legends of the Fall] novel was that a man's life was the sum of his griefs... Yet the more I pushed Brad to reveal himself, the more he resisted. So, I kept pushing and Brad pushed back."

Based on Jim Harrison's novella, 'Legends of the Fall' starred Pitt opposite Anthony Hopkins, Julia Ormond, Aidan Quinn, and Henry Thomas, per Daily Mail.

The actor and the director would finally "make up and mean it," even after they would "blowup" at one another.

According to Zwick, Pitt "is a forthright, straightforward person, fun to be with and capable of great joy. He was never anything less than fully committed to doing his best."

Zwick stated that Pitt 'wasn't pleased' and "felt I'd underplayed his character's madness" when the movie was finished and he showed the actor the final version.

Zwick claims he only removed one image from a sequence showing Tristan sick with a fever, but says "it was a shot he dearly loved, and it would have been little enough to leave it in, and I should have."

Internet reacts to Ed Zwick's allegations against Brad Pitt

Social media users immediately took to the online platform Facebook to slam the director for accusing the Hollywood actor and "bringing up old stories."

One such user wrote, "Why bringing up old stories Yu might be looking for numbers on yur post. A very sick society we live in. Please leave him alone"

A second one echoed a similar sentiment and said, "WTF that was 30 years ago stop with the drama must be a slow day . Brad Pitt was young and that movie was amazing."

"Old new get over it," slammed a third one, while a fourth one chimed in, "Oh FFS it was 30 years ago!!! Is the Director looking for a career boost??"

One more seethed, "Omg how long ago was this??? Give me a break. This is becoming so ridiculous. Everyone coming out of the woodwork to get their name in the news. Pathetic"

Others took to X (formerly Twitter) to continue slamming director Ed Zwick with one saying, "He did that movie a long time ago. He could’ve changed now."

"The film is 30 years old , he was a young actor, I do t blame him one bit. Kinda shitty to bring it up this long after," exclaimed another one.

One more asked, "This movie came out in 1994 lol what took you so long?"

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