Jesse and Brad

Brad Pitt continues to promote The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford as it opens in foreign markets. In an interview with John Hiscock of the Telegraph of Great Britain, he notes that, of all the actors who have played the notorious outlaw on screen, he's the only one who, like Jesse, hails from Springfield, Missouri.

"I was surprised how much pride I found in the fact we're both from the same area," says Pitt. "He's a folk hero and there are tourist traps and museums dedicated to him, but I had never thought of portraying him until I read this script, which dissects the Jesse James myth and also the myth of Robert Ford, who killed him. I wasn't interested in doing a straightforward, shoot-'em-up Western because that's been done really well before – this is different.""