Brad Pitt has always been something of an enigma — and these days, he’s embracing more of a Tree of Life vibe than ever. Pitt is reflecting on “missteps” and says he’s crying more as he ages, two moments of rare vulnerability for a star this big.
The Fight Club star wrote a profile on Anthony Hopkins for Interview Magazine, and the conversation between these two powerhouse actors reveals a lot about how they’re viewing life these days. What we’ve learned about Pitt’s personal life these past few years is troubling, from his struggles with sobriety to his estrangement from his children. But Pitt is clearly thinking deeply about how to recover from past mistakes, and working hard on adopting a softer view of the world.
“I’m realizing, as a real act of forgiveness for myself for all the choices that I’ve made that I’m not proud of, that I value those missteps,” he tells Hopkins, “because they led to some wisdom, which led to something else. You can’t have one without the other.”
While Pitt is working on that self-forgiveness, he still has fears about how the rest of the world will see him: “I think we’re living in a time where we’re extremely judgmental and quick to treat people as disposable,” he suggests later. “We’ve always placed great importance on the mistake. But the next move, what you do after the mistake, is what really defines a person. We’re all going to make mistakes.”
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While Pitt never speaks about his relationship with ex Angelina Jolie or their children directly, we have to assume that his changes in behavior are related to their 2016 split — from which proceedings are still ongoing.
Whatever the reason, the actor is changing up how he spends his time and feeling more emotional than ever. He’s been trying his hand at sculpting, spending long days at the studio, and feeling moved by everything around him.
“I am quite famously a not-crier. Is that a term?” he jokes. “I hadn’t cried in, like, 20 years, and now I find myself, at this later stage, much more moved—moved by my kids, moved by friends, moved by the news. Just moved. I think it’s a good sign. I don’t know where it’s going, but I think it’s a good sign.”
As for the sculpting: Hopkins is apparently “painting like a banshee,” and Pitt was immediately excited to talk about their new hobbies. “I find that some days in the studio are arduous and lonely and monotonous, and other days I find it sensuous and beautiful,” he tells the Two Popes star. “Things are flowing, and it’s sublime.”
Hopkins agrees: “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
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