Meet Joe Black (1998)
Where to Watch
- Martin Brest originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- The original script for Meet Joe Black was written over a decade before production finally began in 1998.
- Before Brad Pitt was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
Meet Joe Black is a 1998 American romantic fantasy drama directed by Martin Brest. Brad Pitt stars as Joe Black, the physical manifestation of Death who has taken the body of a recently killed young man to experience human life before claiming the soul of William Parrish, played by Anthony Hopkins, a wealthy media mogul approaching his 65th birthday. As Joe navigates the unfamiliar sensations of being human โ eating peanut butter for the first time, experiencing attraction, understanding loyalty โ he falls in love with William's daughter Susan, played by Claire Forlani, creating an impossible love triangle between a woman, the borrowed body of her dead first love, and the cosmic entity inhabiting it.
Anthony Hopkins delivered a magnificent performance as a man facing death with dignity and negotiating with his reaper as an equal. The film's three-hour runtime and deliberate pace divided audiences. Meet Joe Black earned $142 million worldwide on a $90 million budget.
