The Trojan star and 12 Years in Slavery producer has managed to keep his name on everyone’s lips for one reason or another, no matter how serious the subject matter. From Brad Pitt’s political views to Brad Pitt’s many hairstyles to Brad Pitt’s tattoos, Hollywood’s A-lister film has certainly proven its relevance. When it comes to Brad Pitt’s tattoos, the star apparently has more than enough and here’s what you need to know about them.
1. Brad Pitt’s tattoos are a mystery
Brad is a very private person and unlike his wife Angelina Jolie, he mostly keeps quiet about his ink and what it means. This makes us even more curious because his tattoos usually have a very distinctive meaning, at least the few that we know of. For example, Brad created all the media frenzy when he sported a very unusual tattoo. It consisted of a sketched linear pattern with several small choppy lines that apparently had no relationship to each other.
After his silence, there was an increase in theories about the meaning of the tattoo. On the one hand, people thought it meant the downed levees that caused the disaster in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. On the other hand, the interpretation was that the lines described the city streets that made up the French Quarter in New Orleans.
Both interpretations were very insightful, but this seems like the theorist gave it too much thought. In the end, his wife Angelina erased all doubts by providing some clarity. In an interview with US Weekly, she said, she randomly drew patterns on his back and he liked it, then made it permanent. Furthermore, she said, “It makes sense in that we create angles and shapes from everyone’s body, that sort of thing.”
2. A number of Brad Pitt tattoos are sentimental
Although he has quite a few pragmatic tattoos, or so we think, a number of Brad’s tattoos are sentimental. To celebrate his love for Angelina Jolie, the actor had his birthdate tattooed on his stomach in Khmer, the official language of Cambodia. Also before their wedding, Brad received a variation of a romantic poem by Rumi tattooed on his crib which read, “There is a realm, beyond all notions of right and wrong. I’ll meet you there.
If you thought the last one was sweet, this one is even better. Brad dedicated a tattoo on his right forearm to his entire family. The tattoo is a thin cross that contains the initials of all his family members. There’s an A for Angelina, M for Maddox, P for Pax, Z for Zahara, S for Shiloh, K for Knox, and V for Vivienne.
3. Brad Pitt promotes cryptic tattoos in foreign languages
As we mentioned earlier, the star tends to lean towards mysterious tattoos that keep us guessing. His tattoos are also often in foreign languages. On his left forearm he had tattooed ‘Absurdites de l’existence’, which translates to ‘life is absurd’. His inspiration was the preface to Daniel Pearl’s book. On his lower left hand he has ‘Invictus’ which means ‘invisible’ and attributed to a poem by ‘William Ernest Henley’.
There is also the Sanskrit blessing on its lower back. Although his importance remains a mystery, it seems to be for the protection of his son Maddox. His wife, Angelina Jolie, has a similar shoulder on the left shoulder blade, meant to protect Maddox and herself from bad luck. This translates to: “Let your enemies depart from you. If you acquire riches, let them always remain yours. Your beauty will be that of Apsara. Wherever you go, many will attend, serve and protect you, surrounding you on all sides. ‘
4. No one knows the exact number of Brad Pitt tattoos
As cryptic as he is with the meaning of his tattoos, he is also with his tattoos as a whole. No one knows the exact number of tattoos, they only appear on his outings and he never comments on them.
5. Brad Pitt’s tattoos are all unique and meaningful
You have to admit it, even though we don’t know what they mean half the time, when understood, his tattoos hold significant meaning and make people think. It’s amazing how he can get people to come up with very unique and thoughtful renditions of his tattoos, with nothing sloppy or sophomore about it. It’s obvious he’s been thinking about it for a long time, and one day we’ll get a glimpse of the movie star.
