Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Brad Pitt: An Actor with More to Life...


I read this article and really enjoyed it! It was one of the few times I've seen an article really talking about the humanity of these actors. I must say I have new respect for the man and tip my hat off to him. I love how he says that he enjoys the fame because he can use it for something more in life. We should all strive to be great (whether it be fame, money, or power) but after we achieve greatness, use it for the right purpose....

Pitt: Acting becoming 'less a focus'

(CNN) -- Actor Brad Pitt plans to focus on rebuilding New Orleans and extending his family, he told CNN's Larry King -- but acting may not be in his long-term future.

"It's become less and less a focus as I get older," he said in the interview, scheduled to air Wednesday night on "Larry King Live." "I think it's really more of a younger man, younger woman's game."

He hasn't ruled it out completely -- "I'd like to drop in if I'm still invited every few years or so," he told King -- but he said he wants to pursue some other interests as well.

"At this point, I'd rather -- it takes so much time, [and] there's just other things I'd rather be doing," said Pitt, who soon turns 44, during the course of a freewheeling interview. VideoWatch Pitt speak lovingly of his children »

Right now, Pitt's primary goal is to help rebuild New Orleans. On Monday, the actor announced plans to build 150 eco-friendly homes in the Louisiana city's Lower 9th Ward, an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. In the storm's aftermath, the community's housing stock was largely demolished, leaving many of its residents living in trailers. VideoWatch King tour the 9th Ward »

Pitt, who purchased a French Quarter mansion in New Orleans earlier this year with Angelina Jolie, said he's met 9th Ward residents who "did everything right" -- worked hard, bought homes, sent kids to college -- but now feel abandoned.

"It wasn't just -- you can't call this an act of God," he said of Katrina. "This was a man-made failure. This should not have happened.

"These were levee failures ... mistakes with destroying the barriers that once protected this city. ... Now I don't [think] it was a dastardly evil move on someone's part. It was a chain of events that culminated into this horrific event.

"But it can be fixed," he said. PhotoGallery: Behind the scenes at the New Orleans project »

Pitt said his Make It Right project won't stop with rebuilding the Lower 9th Ward. The ultimate goal is to build eco-friendly homes throughout New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

He said his interest in the environment has changed the way he and Jolie live. They have installed a water capture system and solar power in their California home. There's no "concept of waste" in nature, he said.

"Anything that's discarded becomes fuel or becomes food for something else," he said. "We can be living the same way."

He urged people to go to his project's Web site -- www.makeitrightnola.org -- to learn how they could contribute. He also called on foundations, corporations and wealthy individuals to contribute.

Pitt gave $5 million to Make It Right.

He also acknowledged that he's uncomfortable being a celebrity. VideoWatch Pitt on the fulfillment of parenthood »

"Well, I duck and jive," he said about being in the spotlight. "Keep my head down."

Celebrity, though, is useful when he can leverage it for a good cause, he added.

"The press uses me," he said. "I use it."

He doesn't like, however, how the paparazzi use his four children.

"They call out my kids by name, shove cameras in their faces," Pitt said. "... My kids believe that any time you go outside the house, it's just a wall of photographers, people that take your picture. That is their view of the world. I worry about the effect it will have on them."

Despite the unwelcome attention, Pitt told King that he wants more children with Jolie. "We're just getting started," he said.

He called Jolie a "fantastic" mother.

"Dedicated, kids first," he said. "[She's] really inventive and great fun to them and very, very protective."

He and Jolie rarely argue, he said.

"No, not really," he said. "[We] challenge each other a lot. Have good fun with that."

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