Brad Pitt turns 60 - and gets into a Formula 1 car

Born on December 18 - Brad Pitt turns 60 - and gets into a Formula 1 car

Brad Pitt turns 60 on Monday - and peace has returned to his life, at least in part, after the public war of the roses with Angelina Jolie.

Pitt, who celebrates a milestone birthday on December 18, is starring in a new film about Formula 1. In the planned action spectacle directed by Joseph Kosinski ("Top Gun: Maverick"), Pitt plays a veteran racing driver who returns from retirement to compete against the Formula 1 elite together with a young driver (Damson Idris).

Filming of the movie, whose title is not yet known, had already started in early summer, but then the months-long Hollywood strike put the brakes on production. But they will continue filming next year, revealed record Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in mid-November. The 38-year-old Mercedes driver is a consultant and co-producer on the film.

Pitt already stepped on the gas at the race track in Silverstone, UK, in July. A garage was set up there for the fictional racing team around the superstar. "It's great to be here," the Oscar winner told Sky Sports at the time. "I'm having the time of my life here." Hamilton brushed aside doubts as to whether a soon-to-be 60-year-old could appear authentic as a Formula 1 driver. "He looks like he's ageing backwards. He's super fit," the seven-time champion attested to the Hollywood star.

Ten years ago, shortly before his 50th birthday, Pitt made headlines with wedding rumors. After almost ten years of dating and more than two years of engagement, Pitt and Angelina Jolie tied the knot in August 2014 at their Château Miraval vineyard on the Côte d'Azur. They had met on the set of the film "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", where they played married undercover killers.

"Brangelina" has long been a brand name for an almost perfect relationship, career and extended family. The parents of six children, three biological and three adopted, were among the top earners in the film industry and were also committed to social and humanitarian causes worldwide.

But the marriage ended in the fall of 2016. Jolie filed for divorce. She accused Pitt of assaulting her and the children. This was followed by disputes over custody and finances.

Brad Pitt now avoids alcohol

Eight months after the surprising separation, Pitt spoke publicly for the first time about the failed relationship and his life afterwards. In an interview with the US magazine "GQ Style", the actor said that he was in therapy and keeping his distance from alcohol. He had previously drunk too much and caused many of the problems himself, Pitt admits in the long and very personal interview. He now wants to lead a healthier life and spend more time with his children.

He himself grew up as the eldest of three children of strictly religious parents in the Midwest of the USA. He gave up his studies at the University of Missouri in 1985 to become an actor. In California, he made a living first with commercials, then with small television roles. Alongside Johnny Depp, who was the same age, Pitt appeared as a twenty-something in the high school comedy "21 Jump Street". His brief appearances in the 80s cult series "Dallas" are also unforgettable. He was barely known at the time and even had a brief sex scene.

Pitt's breakthrough on the big screen came in a small role as Geena Davis' blonde seducer in the road movie "Thelma and Louise" (1991). Robert Redford immediately hired him as the lead actor for his family drama "From the Middle Arises a River". A year later, he played a brutal serial killer in "Kalifornia". The newcomer had a romance with co-star Juliette Lewis.

In the mid-90s, he was in a relationship with "Seven" film partner Gwyneth Paltrow, then the ladies' man met "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston. At their wedding ceremony in Malibu in the summer of 2000, the paparazzi circled the Pacific coast in helicopters. People magazine voted him "Sexiest Man" twice. The marriage broke up in 2005 when he met Jolie.

His career continued with the "Ocean's Eleven" series, "Troy", "Babel", "Inglourious Basterds", "The Tree of Life" and "World War Z" across all film genres. After three Oscar nominations as supporting and leading actor for "12 Monkeys" (1996), "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2009) and "The Art of Winning - Moneyball" (2012), Pitt triumphed on the Oscar stage for the first time in 2014. Not as an actor, but as co-producer of the slave drama "12 Years a Slave", which took the top Oscar for Best Picture.

Pitt markets his own skincare products - and thinks "anti-ageing" is nonsense

The second Oscar came in 2020 for his acting skills - as stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood". In the supporting role, he played the loyal friend of an ageing star (Leonardo DiCaprio) in 1969 Hollywood, at the time of the Manson murders. In his acceptance speech, Pitt dedicated the Oscar to his children. "You make everything I do colorful," said the then 56-year-old at the Academy Awards.

In last year's action comedy "Bullet Train", Pitt played a hitman who is supposed to strike on a Japanese express train, but doesn't actually like violence. At the Berlin premiere in summer 2022, he reflected on his own emotional life. "The older I get, the more I deal with topics such as spirituality and psychology. That helps," he said.

A little later, he hit the big screen with the wild film spectacle "Babylon - Ecstasy". Under the direction of Damien Chazelle and alongside Margot Robbie, he shone as a celebrated movie star in the early Hollywood of the 1920s.

A request by the German Press Agency to Pitt's spokesperson team about how he would celebrate his 60th birthday went unanswered. The actor commented on getting older in an interview with British "Vogue" just over a year ago. "I don't want to run away from ageing," said Pitt. "It's a concept we can't escape, and I'd rather see our culture embrace it with slightly more open arms."

Pitt runs his own skincare line, rejecting a product promise such as "anti-ageing" in his own words: "That's ridiculous, a fairy tale". The important thing is to learn to love yourself and treat yourself better. "Just age healthily, age in a healthy way."

Sources: dpa /"Stuttgarter Nachrichten"

See in the photo gallery: They were considered Hollywood's dream couple: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. But they split up in 2016 and have been arguing ever since. Between them are their children.