This 22-year-old actor finds his home on the range as he takes Hollywood by storm!

Like thousands of other aspiring actors, Brad Pitt left his small midwestern town and took his big dreams to Hollywood. Unlike most of his contemporaries, though, Brad found that Tinseltown welcomed him with open arms. Before long, he found an agent, landed commercial and TV work, and is now a recurring character on the long-running soap Dallas. It's been quite a year for this 22-year-old Missouri native.

Although it looks like Brad made a wise choice in pursuing acting, getting the courage to go through with his convictions was a bit tough at first. "People usually don't leave Missouri," the actor explains. "It's safe and it's nice. As soon as I got here, I immediately started hitting everything I could to try to get into the business. I just ran into some great people along the way."

Among the great people Brad ran into were the members of the cast of Growing Pains. Brad had a part on the show as a transfer student who caught Tracey Gold's eye. Although he liked working with everyone on Growing Pains, working with Cameron Kirk was a real thrill for brownhaired Brad. "I was really impressed with Kirk," says Brad. "I think someone in that position, who's looked up to that much and has that much money and power at that age, could really get messed up. I've seen some of it out here. he's just completely humble and nice. In fact, I learned how I wanted to be when things got rolling. I was really impressed."

Brad is also impressed with his Dallas costar Shalane McCall, though their first meeting was a little uncomfortable. "It was funny because I got the part (of Shalane's on-screen boyfriend) and I was on the set and the first scene we had to do was sit there and slobber on each other at the top of the stairs," he remembers. "We hadn't even gotten to talk yet. I was a funny experience, a little awkward, but now we're pretty tight. She's a great girl."

With a possible feature film role and the chance that his Dallas character will become a regular, Brad is more than optimistic about the future. "I'm open for anything right now," he says. "I believe everything will work our for the best."