Sound gigantic? Makes sense -- Petersen was also the director behind ''The Perfect Storm'' and ''Air Force One.'' Says Pitt: ''Wolfgang is a very savvy storyteller, he knows what's going on, he has a dry sense of humor...and he does it BIG.''
As does Pitt. Writer David Benioff (''25th Hour'') recalls the actor reporting to meetings steeped in Achilles analysis. ''He'd come with a binder with 500 pages of writing on Achilles that he'd underlined and highlighted,'' the writer says. ''So I'd get homework too.'' Pitt also quit smoking, packed on some massive knots of muscle, and trained in everything from horseback riding to swordsmanship. He found inspiration for his angry ancient in oddly modern places. ''I started out with a lot of Audioslave or anything Chris Cornell -- it helped with the aggression,'' he says. ''And Chris Webber from the [Sacramento] Kings. There's a real sweetness behind his eyes, but he's pissed off.'' ''Fight Club'' fan Petersen had faith his star could play a guy who, say, smacks his lover and brutalizes a family man. ''He looks like a god,'' the director says. ''But he has some really dark, edgy things about him. The tortured soul that Achilles is, that's Brad.'' Is that right... Brad? ''I'm not stepping into that one,'' Pitt says. ''You know, you live the part, you do what you gotta do.... He's definitely a tortured guy. But that's what I was drawn to.''
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