It’s been the best and worst of years in the life of Brad Pitt.
On the one hand, he’s had the biggest hit of his career with World War Z while on the other his partner, Angelina Jolie, underwent a preventative double mastectomy – a decision she announced via an oped piece in the New York Times.
Soon to celebrate his 50th birthday (on December 18), Pitt joined Jolie and their six children in Sydney last week.
Despite turning the ‘big five-o’, Pitt is still one of the most marketable stars in the world who has managed to transition from sex symbol as a young man to a character actor and, today as a producer and financier also, to movie mogul.
Last week, he learned just how much he misses his brood when away from them. This week, we hear about what he loves and hates. It’s a surprising mix.
His loves
Bedtime with his kids
We learned this from the interview last week. "There's nothing better than having your kids storm your bedroom and wage a pillow attack on you."
Architecture and furniture design
"Architecture has always been one of my passions. I'm fascinated by it and I first got into it when I studied Frank Lloyd Wright in one of my courses (at the University of Missouri) when looking for a lazy two-point credit to get out of French. It forever changed my life.
"I love it that some of my kids are already starting making sketches and drawing buildings of their own. I'm trying to push them in that direction."
Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Falling Water House in Pennsylvania.
France
One of Pitt’s and Jolie’s properties is Chateau Miraval, a 1200-acre estate in Provence, France (main picture). They are serious winemakers and their Rosé was recently named in the top 100 wines in the world, making it the top Rosé in the world. If you want a bottle, it's surprisingly well-priced and available online!
"Life is so much easier at Chateau Miraval because we have much more privacy and the people who live in the area are incredibly respectful of us and we can move around pretty freely in the villages. The best thing about our home there is that the children enjoy a much more normal environment and we don’t have to hide as much or strategise as much to move around. In France we feel like a much more normal family and we don’t deal with as many distractions."
New Orleans
Through his Make it Right Foundation established in 2007, Pitt has helped build 150 single-family low-cost houses in hurricane and flood-devastated New Orleans and also donated millions to the disaster-stricken city.
"The work we've done in New Orleans is something I'm very proud of. It's remarkable to see families living in energy efficient and affordable housing and now we want to take what we've learned and expand to other parts of the US and abroad."
Motorcycles
His prize possession is a $300,000 custom-made Ecosse Titanium Series XX motorcycle (pictured).
"I love riding motorcycles. I can avoid the traffic in LA as well as the paparazzi and get anywhere I want to real fast."
His hates
Brad explained just how much his family mean to him and how much he misses them when they’re apart in our exclusive last week.
Religion
"I grew up very religious, but I don't have a great relationship with it.
“I was raised in a fairly strict Christian environment which was very healthy and loving, but which set up a lot of rules and beliefs which I couldn’t always accept or make sense of .... I oscillate between agnosticism and atheism."
Santa Claus
This one surprised us - so much so, we checked that we heard right!
"I'm not real big on the whole Santa thing. I thought it was a huge act of betrayal when I was a kid. I didn't like that. When I found out the truth, I was like, 'Why, why, why would you lie to me, why?'
"So what I tell my own kids is that some people believe it's Santa who gives presents, and some people believe it's parents, and you get to believe whatever you want."
Interview with a Vampire
We've all had bad days at the office. Pitt had six months of it when making Interview with a Vampire.
"That film was one of the worst experiences of my life! Six months in the f—-ing dark. Contact lenses, makeup, I’m playing the bitch role … now I’d be able to say, ‘This is a problem. I’m out of here, or we fix this.’
But the great thing that came out of that movie is that it birthed my love affair with New Orleans. But then we shot in London in the dead of winter at Pinewood (where there) were no windows. It hasn’t been refurbished in decades. You leave for work in the dark—you go into this cauldron, this mausoleum - and then you come out and it’s dark.
"I’m telling you, one day it broke me."
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