Brad Pitt is one of the most well-known actors in the world. He has starred in both big-budget blockbusters and independent dramas, and is widely regarded as one of Hollywood’s most handsome and prominent performers.

Pitt aspired to be an art director when he was studying journalism at the University of Missouri. He quickly realized, however, that he had a strong attraction to the wonderful world of movies. Pitt considered movies to be “a portal into different worlds,” prompting him to drop out of college and relocate to California to pursue his ambition of becoming an actor.

Despite several setbacks at the outset of his career, he has progressed significantly since then. In fact, for his part in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, he just received over 15 Best Supporting Actor honors.

“My job was to drive strippers to bachelor parties and things,” Pitt revealed at Newsweek’s annual Oscar discussion Saturday in Hollywood, referring to one of his earliest gigs. “I’d pick them up, and at the gig I’d collect the money, play the bad Prince tapes and catch the girls’ clothes. It was not a wholesome atmosphere, and it got very depressing.”

Working as a furniture mover and dressing up as a chicken for the restaurant chain “El Pollo Loco” were also among his early jobs. He had an interaction with someone who would influence the direction of his life during one of these early jobs.

Pitt was just two weeks away from graduating, but he couldn’t stand it any longer and told his parents that he was moving to Pasadena, California, to attend the Art Center College of Design. He did relocate to California to pursue his studies, but the subject was not the same as what he had indicated to his parents. The ambitious actor had already made up his mind about what he wanted to do with his life, opting for acting classes over finishing his official schooling.

Brad Pitt’s relocation to Los Angeles was not easy at first. He barely had a few hundred dollars to his name at the time, which apparently prompted him to undertake “odd jobs” on the side.

Pitt established a crucial show business contact early on. According to extracts from Newsweek, he said, “This girl – I’d never met her before – was in an acting class taught by a man named Roy London,” a prominent acting teacher. “I went and checked it out, and it really set me on the path to where I am now.”

“Strippers changed my life,” he added.

Pitt discovered that once he participated in acting lessons, he had more possibilities. He began earning parts in different television programs in the late 1980s, including Another World and Dallas.

Pitt took it all in stride as part of the essential lesson of learning to stand on one’s own two feet. “When I left Missouri I wasn’t ready to call it quits as far as getting out into the world,” the actor remarked as he reflected on his journey. “It wasn’t leaving something behind, it was heading for something that was nascent and ill-defined. I did not know what it would be when I got to L.A., and to me not knowing that has always been the most exciting thing about making a trip.”

On a more serious note, the 43-year-old Babel star discussed how becoming a father has changed his outlook.

“When I started, I had this idea that the films I did defined me, and that my life would be interesting based on the characters I’d chosen,” he said. “I don’t feel that way anymore. I’m a father now. There are other things that are important to me. I was chasing something that wasn’t fulfilling.”

He added: “I caught myself on the phone the other day – Leo (DiCaprio) has been playing some real strong men these last few years, and I found myself saying, ‘I want to play more of a man.’ I got off the phone and I thought, ‘No. Live like a man, and the movies will follow.’ ”