Brad Pitt has revealed that he nearly turned down his role in Guy Ritchie's 2000 crime comedy Snatch after struggling for weeks to master the specific "pikey" accent required for his character, Irish Traveller Mickey O'Neil. Despite being a major Hollywood star already known for films such as Thelma and Louise, Interview with the Vampire and Fight Club, Pitt was so unsure of his ability to pull off the unusual dialect that he even suggested Ritchie play the part himself instead, fearing he would ruin the film.

Pitt told Rolling Stone that he had spent time with English Travellers to study the accent but still hadn't nailed it the night before filming began. In a moment of panic, he walked the streets talking to himself, drawing inspiration from Benicio del Toro's mumbled delivery in The Usual Suspects, and the accent suddenly clicked. He then checked with Ritchie that the dialogue didn't need to be fully intelligible, got the director's blessing, and went on to deliver a performance widely praised as a standout example of his versatility.