SEXIEST MAN ALIVE HAS FRIEND, FORMER CO-STAR IN CAPE GIRARDEAU AREA

Women all over the nation joined People magazine in dubbing Brad Pitt the "sexiest man alive."

But for at least two Southeast Missouri residents, he's just Brad, despite his leading roles in three major movies and smaller parts in countless others.

Pitt's former college roommate, Tony Myers, is a human resources manager for a Farmington playground equipment company. Jill Moore Hopson, who starred opposite Pitt in a University of Missouri Greek play, is a wife and mother in Sikeston.

Both remember Pitt as a very religious, clean-cut student who rarely drank, didn't use drugs and charmed the women he met. He wore pastel-colored polo shirts and no facial hair, not the ripped jeans and goatee that made him famous.

Myers, 30, met the star when he transferred to the University of Missouri-Columbia from Southwest Missouri State University in 1985. Both were in the Sigma Chi fraternity, so they got an apartment off-campus with two other guys. Pitt, a native of Springfield, and Myers became friends quickly, but got even closer when both went through tough break-ups at the same time.

At first, Myers refused to talk to the press about his friendship with Pitt. He rejected People magazine's offer and some others before agreeing to an interview with the Southeast Missourian. Myers said he was afraid his statements would be twisted to reflect badly on his friend.

"I heard all the stupid stuff on tabloid TV shows that he was gay," Myers said. "I told him I wasn't really thrilled with that, since a lot of people knew I was his roommate for a long time. But Brad told me that if someone called, go ahead and talk to them."

Myers is more comfortable discussing Pitt these days, remembering the actor's decision to leave the university and pursue an acting career two credits shy of a degree in journalism. Pitt told most of his friends that he was transferring to a prestigious marketing school in California. He told Myers the truth.

Myers thought his friend had talent, but never expected him to go out and become a star.

Jill Hopson, 32, felt the same way, although she graduated from school a year before Pitt left. A Sikeston native and member of Delta Delta Delta sorority, she starred opposite Pitt in a Greek Fling skit her senior year. She played a queen who was having an affair with Pitt's character, a guy named Bob.

Although he had no formal training in drama, Pitt distinguished himself early on in his college career, collecting great reviews as a freshman playing the Beaver in a musical adaptation of "Leave it to Beaver."

By the time he starred opposite Hopson, he loved the stage.

"We had a duet in the play, and I kept wanting to rehearse," Hopson said. "He asked me why I wanted to keep singing it over and over. I asked him if he was at all nervous, and he just said no."

She dated Pitt once -- he was her mystery date at another Greek event. Although Hopson was seeing someone else seriously at the time, she remembered the evening as fun and Pitt as an excellent dancer.

She graduated with her degree in language arts and went on to become a high school English teacher in St. Louis. She watched Pitt's rise from Mountain Dew commercials to the box office smash "Legends of the Fall."

"I never thought he would become an actor," Hopson said. "I guess he looked the most like I remember him in `A River Runs Through It.'"

Pitt's former roommate, on the other hand, got to hear about Pitt's blossoming career firsthand. Myers went to California to see his friend a few times, once in 1989 when Pitt was dating boxer Mike Tyson's ex-wife, actress Robin Givens.

"I told Brad that Mike Tyson was going to kick his butt," Myers said. The boxer didn't, though, and Pitt went on to introduce his friend to other stars, including Johnny Depp.

Myers stays in touch with Pitt when the actor isn't on location, and may go visit him this summer. He even considered asking Pitt to be in his upcoming wedding, but decided against it.

"It's a major commotion any time Brad leaves California," Myers said. "His mom told me that he can cause a mob scene at Battlefield Mall in Springfield."

Right now, Pitt is filming "Seven," where he plays the perfect cop. His asking price is $6 million per picture.