Brad Pitt and Eric Bana forged an agreement regarding the physical blows exchanged during the filming of "Troy."
The duo, alongside Orlando Bloom, took on leading roles in the 2004 film directed by Wolfgang Petersen.
In the realm of action scenes, inherent risks accompany those who partake in them. Typically, stunt doubles bear the responsibility of executing such scenes, but occasionally, actors opt to undertake the challenges themselves. This was the case with Brad Pitt and Eric Bana during the production of Troy. Anticipating that some blows were inevitable, the two performers established a unique arrangement: whoever received a blow would also receive compensation.
Wolfgang Petersen directed Troy, a film boasting a cast featuring Pitt, Bana, and Orlando Bloom, along with Rose Byrne, Diane Kruger, Brian Cox, and Sean Bean.
Scripted by David Benioff, known as the 'showrunner' of Game of Thrones, the film is an adaptation of the poem from The Iliad. The narrative unfolds with the abduction of Helen, the wife of the Greek king Menelaus, by Paris, sparking a war between the Greeks, led by Achilles, and the Trojans.
A pivotal moment in Troy occurs when Achilles and Hector engage in combat, with Pitt portraying the former and Bana the latter. As mentioned, the decision was made for both actors to personally film the sequence. While Achilles emerges victorious on-screen, the off-screen question arises: who proved more adept in the art of combat? The answer: Bana.
The actors mutually agreed to impose financial penalties for each instance of genuine contact during the fight: $50 for a light touch and $100 for a forceful blow. Pitt shared in a 2004 interview with Today, "We made a deal: that we were going to go all out. We decided we would pay $50 for minor infractions and $100 for major hits if one of us hit the other."
The intense fight scene, culminating in the death of Hector, the defender of Troy, spanned six days of filming. In the end, Pitt found himself indebted to his co-star, owing $750. Bana, on the other hand, mentioned sustaining a minor scar on his nose from a blow delivered by Pitt, resulting in a debt of approximately $200, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Despite Troy's global box office success, surpassing $497 million, and securing an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design, the film did not claim victory in the said category.
