Look Who Bagged Brad

The down-home heartthrob who has it all wants nothing more than
to hang out with his sweet Seven costar Gwyneth Paltrow

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BRAD PITT IS ON HIS KNEES. NO, HE'S not offering thanks for the
abs and orbs that have made him Hollywood's come-hitherest hunk.
Nor has our reigning Sexiest Man Alive been bowled over by the
accolades he is receiving for his performance in 12 Monkeys, the
new futuristic thriller that casts him as a psychotic soothsayer
and has already earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best
Supporting Actor. At the moment, he of Interview with the Vampire
and Legends of the Fall fame is simply putting in his time as
John Doe, Citizen.

Pitt, you see, has taken his girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow's black
Lab out for a trot through the streets of Manhattan's Greenwich
Village, and, well, even to heartthrobs, things happen. "Gwyneth
educated him about New York City's cleanup laws," says Pitt's
friend, director Tim DiCillo. "So he got down with a plastic bag
over his hand like any other New York dog owner."

Ah, what even a young superstar won't do for love. In the year
since PEOPLE bestowed the Sexiest Man title on a kicking and
screaming Pitt--hey, after his breathtakingly bare-chested turn
as Tristan Ludlow in Legends, what choice did we have?--much has
changed in the life of the 32-year-old actor. He boasts a new
buzz cut (to the chagrin of millions of fans who had swooned
over his long, bleach-blond locks), a new tax bracket (his
asking price is now a reported $8 million) and, most importantly,
a new romance--with the 22-year-old actress he began dating last
winter while filming Seven, a huge hit this fall with Pitt as a
know-it-all cop tracking a serial killer, Paltrow as his devoted
wife and Morgan Freeman as his seasoned partner.

"They are very much in love," says Seven producer Arnold Kopelson
of Pitt and Paltrow, daughter of actress Blythe Danner (To Wong
Foo) and TV producer Bruce Paltrow (St. Elsewhere). "The chemistry
between them is very obvious." Confirms casting director and
longtime Pitt friend Marcia Schulman: "I met her, and when she
was out of earshot, Brad said, `So, do you like her? Isn't she
incredible?' " Seven director Terry Gilliam says yes: "She's
highly educated, encouraging him to read more. They make a
wonderful couple."

Their teamwork was delightfully evident a few weeks back, when
Pitt took Paltrow to Springfield, Mo., to spend Christmas with
his family. Evidently the pantry in the large, gated home that
belongs to Pitt's parents--Bill, a former trucking-company
executive, and Jane, a high school counselor--was insufficiently
stocked. At Smitty's supermarket, where the young couple picked
up $40 worth of groceries, Pitt was instantly recognized despite
his wool scarf and long dark coat--and after signing a few
autographs stepped outside for a smoke. In her high-top tennis
shoes and a stocking cap, Paltrow, who remained inside to pay
the bill, passed virtually unnoticed. "That was Brad Pitt," the
checkout girl breathlessly declared.

"Who?" asked Paltrow with mock bewilderment--and then a real laugh.

The actress, who previously dated Robert Sean Leonard (Dead
Poet's Society), would likely have been no more fazed a few
days later when Pitt lifted his dark sunglasses long enough to
treat a female fan--unable to stop herself from staring in a
local Venture discount store--to a quick blue-eyed wink. "Gwyneth
is very confident," says Kopelson. "A strong woman is not
threatened by the attention Brad gets. It's a reaffirmation of
her selection."

Her boy Brad, though, does have a habit of falling hard for his
leading ladies. About a year after the 23-year-old University of
Missouri dropout rolled into Hollywood almost a decade ago, with
little more than $325 in his pocket and the silver Nissan he
called Runaround Sue, he landed a small part in the ABC sitcom
Head of the Class. He went on to date its star, Robin Givens, for
six months in 1988. Next came a role in the 1989 slasher flick
Cutting Class and a brief romance with costar Jill Schoelen.
In 1990 he met then-16-year-old Juliette Lewis while they were
filming the TV movie Too Young to Die? They were still a couple
when they costarred as cold-blooded killers in 1993's Kalifornia--
but had split by that February.

Lewis was followed by raven-haired model Jitka Pohlodek, 26, who
spent a lot of time with Pitt in his turn-of-the-century Hollywood
Hills mansion (previously owned by campy TV horror hostess Elvira)
until about a year ago. Her two pet bobcats fit in nicely with his
menagerie: three dogs--Todd Potter, Saudi and Purty--and an
assortment of chameleons and iguanas. Yet Pitt seemed sometimes to
be thinking of Lewis. "Istill love the woman," he told Vanity Fair
in November of 1994, while dating Pohlodek. "The problem is, we
grow up with this vision that love conquers all, and that's just
not so, is it?"

Perhaps not, but love had to conquer quite a bit when it came to
Pitt and Paltrow, who grew up on different sides of the same career
track. Born in L.A. and raised in Manhattan, Paltrow came of age
with her younger siblings Jake and Laura in an artsy household
where the dinner conversation would likely have touched on her
mother's stage role as Blanche DuBois in AStreetcar Named Desire
or her father's dealings with CBS as creator of the series The
White Shadow. In the Pitt household (brother Doug, now 29, and
sister Julie, 27, are rearing families of their own in Springfield),
the talk over supper--quite often, Pitt has said proudly, macaroni
and cheese--would sooner have focused on the most recent sermon at
the South Haven Baptist Church or the latest make-out party with
the gang from--no kidding--Kickapoo High.