Over the decades, from his breakout in a small but memorable role in 1991’s Thelma and Louise, to Mr and Mrs Smith, SE7EN, and Once upon a time in Hollywood, Brad Pitt has cemented his name as one of Hollywood’s great. This is owed to various reasons.

First is his acting prowess, which has seen him earn multiple Academy Award wins and nominations, his star power to guarantee a box office hit, his engaging off-screen romances, and his irresistible looks that earned him the PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive title twice. Yet, while these factors are discernible formulae for Hollywood success, one thing that remains a topic of amusement, for some wonder, is the constant snacking by the characters he plays and the movies he stars in.

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Fun fact: according to Insider, Pitt has eaten in 60 movies he has appeared in. That is a lot of appetite. A Reddit user estimates he has consumed about 4988 calories on-screen. These meals include nachos, bagels, cheeseburgers, French fries, twinkies, cookies, burritos, sandwiches and more. But why? Could Pitt’s eating in movies be done with purposeful intent, or is it just a random coincidence? Here is our explanation.

Commercial Success

     Warner Bros. Pictures

The first thing people noticed about Pitt was his eating habits in Ocean’s Eleven. In the movie, Pitt plays Rusty, one of Danny Ocean’s comrades, in a significant Las Vegas robbery. He spent a significant portion of the runtime eating snacks when he wasn’t getting his hands dirty, attempting to find out how to steal millions. According to a Reddit user, “The more calories Brad Pitt consumes, the higher ratings his films receive, and the more money it earns at the box office”. When Pitt eats 200+ calories in a film (Ocean’s Eleven and Meet Joe Black), the film earns $143+ million. If he eats 0-200 calories, his movie earns $110 million; when he does not eat at all, the box office earnings stay within the range of $68 million.

It is Attractive

     Paramount Pictures

One obvious explanation for this amusing theory is Pitt’s physical appeal. Because the audience will obsess over Pitt doing practically anything, to some extent, his eating is satisfying to watch, just like popular ASMR content. This is another reason Pitt’s jaws are always moving: it keeps people watching. An A-list actor grabbing a snack in front of an audience delivers the same emotional reward effect as watching a celebrity buying gas at a fuel station. It purposely yet subconsciously connects Pitt and the audience throughout, and beyond, the eating scene.

Eat Acting

     Sony Pictures Releasing

Because actors don’t actually eat the food during their takes, there is a specific methodology known as “eat acting.” Some eating scenes may require multiple takes, and for this reason, eat acting is required. It entails the actors biting the food, chewing, and spitting out while the camera is away or a take is complete. Interestingly, this is a craft Pitt has perfected over the years. Pitt’s realistic eat-acting is the major reason why there is a whole conversation about this in the first place.

Focus on the Character

     Warner Bros.

When asked about this frequent habit in an interview with Joe.ie, the Once upon a time in Hollywood star finally provided the answer, we have all been speculating. In the interview, Pitt stated that he likes to take quick bites: “I like to busy myself, I’m a grazer by nature,” he said. However, he added that intentionality was put into why he always eats in the Ocean’s movies. “There was actually a method to that because [his character] was always on the run, always on the move, I figured he could never sit down and have a proper meal. So he always had to grab something on the run.”

By doing this, Pitt’s constant eating in movies is an additional layer of his character’s depth that is evident in his prominent films. For example, Billy Beane’s consistent snacking in Moneyball demonstrates his desperation and emphasis to win the baseball tournament. In other scenarios, his eating pattern is integral to the movie’s theme and plot. For example, in Meet Joe Black, Pitt plays death trapped in a man’s body. Because Pitt plays death, he ’eat-acts’ like a character just introduced to food. It’s all about highlighting the film’s topic. Many humans have died, and civilizations have crumbled, all to death’s witness. And when he finally reaches human shape and gains senses, his favorite food is peanut butter.

Another scenario where Brad Pitt’s eating adds greater detail to his character is in Interview with the Vampire. By strictly feeding on rats, Pitt’s vampire character, Loius de Pointe du lac, shows his empathy for humans and defines himself as a good vampire. One way or the other, in any film Brad Pitt eats, he instils his food mannerism into the character and plot he is working with.

The concept that Pitt eats in his films is only one of the many interesting facts about his most recognized roles and acting style. His latest movie, Bullet Train, is no different. In between brawls, Pitt eats wasabi peas in many sequences of the action-comedy thriller. It’s a norm fans have picked up on and would continue to observe.