Five films that make Brad Pitt the ultimate symbol of versatility

As Brad Pitt celebrates his birthday today, we revisit some of his greatest films, performances, and characters

There are movie stars, and then there are silver screen gods. Brad Pitt is the latter, and he might be the last one. Brad Pitt is Hollywood royalty, with a career spanning 30 plus years and a remarkable number of box office smash hits, he has proved himself time and time again to be more than just a pretty boy in cinema. With 80 acting credits to his name, there's very little filler and an abundance of killer in Pitt's filmography.

Brad Pitt can do no wrong. And that's why Sony PIX has decided to round up his greatest movie roles of all time as we celebrate his 56th Birthday.

1. Seven

1995 was a good year for Pitt. The actor cemented his status as a marquee star by headlining Seven and leading the relentlessly ugly, bleak film to a success, that's almost unfathomable today, considering the subject matter. Pitt's performance as a young detective working with his partner, played by the amazing Morgan Freeman, is fantastic as the two work to solve the case of a terrifying serial killer who recreates the seven deadly sins with his victims. Watch Seven only on Sony PIX.

2. Ocean's 11

What do you get when you cross Brad Pitt with George Clooney and Matt Damon? A heist romp that also stars Julia Roberts, Elliott Gould, Don Cheadle and Andy Garcia. For Pitt and perhaps for us all there is before 'Ocean's Eleven,' and after 'Ocean's Eleven'. After launching to superstardom with a series of tightly clenched performances that forced him to carry his sex god status like a cross on his back, Pitt was finally offered a role that allowed him to loosen up; that allowed his energy to melt into the texture of a scene, and not define it. He ended up doing that anyway, but in an almost subliminal way. Watch Ocean's 11 only on Sony PIX.

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The lead performance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button splits the difference between tragedy and farce with the grace of a beautiful fool. Pitt is a strangely endearing digital chimaera as an old man who was born into a world that he can't hope to understand, but his performance softens into sweet wonder as Benjamin Button grows younger, and all of the things he's ever wanted from life open up to him with the clarity of a lucid dream. After two decades of embodying id and desire, rage and charm, Pitt resolved into an immaculately bittersweet screen presence in a way that only the most beautiful of actors can.

4. Fight Club

Fight Club was not a huge hit when it was released, but it's become a classic. It's often called a cult classic. Directed by the great David Fincher, Fight Club features Brad Pitt as The Narrator's alter-ego, a man called Tyler Durden, who encourages The Narrator to start an underground fight club. Brad Pitt's performance is pitch-perfect as a jumpy, angry figment of The Narrator's imagination. Pitt allowed the role to metastasize into a caricature of everything that men thought, they wanted to be, and he did it so well that he ultimately had to be destroyed for his perfection.

5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino's tenth film Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood gave way for one of Pitt's best performances. The film details the lives of aging actor Rick Dalton and his deadbeat best friend Cliff Booth as they deal with a changing Hollywood landscape. Pitt takes everything the character has ever done, whatever that might be, and hides it behind the skin of a Hollywood set that just needs to sell the illusion and make it through the shoot.

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!