Brad Pitt on epiphanies and family

MANILA, Philippines – Esquire magazine’s June-July issue places Hollywood a-list star Brad Pitt in the spotlight, as he talks about how an unpleasant past transformed into a happy present.

A teaser to writer-at-large Tom Junod’s “A life so large” cover story posted on the Esquire site reveals the actor’s unusual quirk. “He won’t remember you.”

Pitt laughs at his inability to remember people he has met, and his desperate effort to remember come across as offensive.

“So many people hate me because they think I’m disrespecting them. So I swear to God, I took one year where I just said, this year, I’m just going to cop to it and say to people, ‘Okay, where did we meet?’ But it just got worse. People were more offended.”

“That’s why I stay at home,” he adds. “You meet so many damned people and then you meet ’em again.”

The actor talks about having only a small circle of friends, and the joy of family.

“I have very few friends. I have a handful of close friends and I have my family and I haven’t known life to be any happier. I’m making things. I just haven’t known life to be any happier,” he tells Esquire.

A Wonderwall article says more about the feature, revealing how Pitt was an academic paper short of graduating college, how an “ephiphany” pushed him to change, and how life with 6 kids and partner Angelina Jolie is proving to be the best days of his life.

“For a long time I thought I did too much damage — drug damage. I was a bit of a drifter.”

“I spent years f***ing off. But then I got burnt out and felt that I was wasting my opportunity. It was a conscious change. This was about a decade ago. It was an epiphany — a decision not to squander my opportunities.”

Now a self-confessed family man, Pitt talks about settling down and overhauling his life. 

“There’s constant chatter in our house, whether it’s giggling or screaming or crying or banging. I love it. I love it. I love it. I hate it when they’re gone. I hate it. Maybe it’s nice to be in a hotel room for a day — ‘Oh, nice, I can finally read a paper.’ But then, by the next day, I miss that cacophony, all that life,” he says. 

Recently, his long-time partner Angelina Jolie made headlines in the media, after revelations of undergoing a preventive double mastectomy procedure sparked a discussion on issues of health and choice.

READ: Breast cancer and Angelina’s choice

– Rappler.com