Brad Pitt is one of the most beloved stars of the silver screen.
I wonder if Brad Pitt, like Dorian Gray, has an aging portrait in his attic for him. I ask him if he does and he bursts out laughing. I add that there must be a kernel of truth in that: in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, didn’t he play a man who, instead of aging, gets younger? He laughs a second time. Yeah. Brad Pitt is 60 years old, but he looks the same as he did 33 years ago, when he stole the show from two beautiful actresses (Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon) in Thelma and Louise, and the world, at least the movie world, definitely took notice of him. Since then Brad has come a long way.
So what is your secret to eternal youth?
“Let’s say I have several.”
Can you tell me a few?
“Sure. I always try to be curious. Curious in work and in life. At the same time I take life cheerfully. I love music and try to find it every day.”
In what way? Trying to discover new songs…or….
“I listen to a lot of music, I like to hum and lately I find myself dancing without almost noticing it…but the musicality that I seek is that of life, the music that is inside every day. Sometimes it is real music that I happen to hear and it literally changes my day. Other times it is the whistling of the wind, the sound of foliage, the sea…Music has been a tremendous help to me these past few years. I might dare to say that it has saved me. It has been able to instill courage in me, to rekindle a fire that seemed dormant, to restore my joy. Since then I cannot do without it. It is a ‘musical world’ of mine. And I love it.”
Besides music, do you cultivate other passions?
“I love architecture! I have a studio in Santa Monica, California. You know, I like to sift through every corner of Los Angeles, I enchant myself in front of houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright or John Lautner. I especially study and prefer the postmodern style. I am fascinated by the fact that, in buildings of a certain type, the refinement of aesthetics does not neglect the needs of the human being or the environment; on the contrary, many avant-garde solutions are the perfect combination of art, the removal of architectural barriers and respect for the ecosystem.”
On another note, what is your relationship with technology?
“I use it. I find it very useful, but at the same time I am a little scared of it.”
Which is to say?
“Think for a moment about all the things we are able to do with a cell phone. Think of all the applications that allow you to edit anything. Think about social media…it is tempting to live a fictitious reality, to create a parallel life…however, I believe that virtual images and life will never replace real life and real people.”
Where do you watch movies? At the cinema or on TV?
“I’ll preface this by saying that I love the movies, and that the big screen experience is unique and irreplaceable…but often, due to commitments, schedules and convenience, I end up staying home and, under the guise of showing them to my children, watching my favorite cartoons.”
Such as..
“Fantasia, Bambi, The Little Mermaid and The Jungle Book…in short, the world created by Disney.”
Inside you, then, is a child hiding?
“Actually, I have never been a particularly exuberant child, but quite the opposite. Often, in my life, I have felt lonely. It doesn’t matter if you have many people next to you. You can feel lonely even in your family, surrounded by those who love you. Then you grow up and realize that happiness and sadness, joy and sorrow, are part, in equal measure, of your life. If you can manage your emotions, without letting them overpower you, then you have found the key to happiness.”
How does Brad Pitt feel today, compared to that child?
“I feel free. I feel myself. I have worked on myself for a long time. I have metabolized the scars of life. I have accepted my choices, right or wrong. I have forgiven myself for my mistakes, and I am proud of my personal successes and my career. I regret nothing because I am convinced that everything happens for a reason…and if that reason is to make me a better man, the Brad I am now, then, I am even happier.”
Barbara Zorzoli
