Brad Pitt Talks About Turning 50 and the Importance of 12 Years a Slave

World War Z star doesn't have a problem with getting older

By Josh Grossberg Oct 15, 2013 4:14 PMTags
Brad PittFameFlynetUK/FAMEFLYNET

Hard to believe but Brad Pitt's about to turn the big 5-0 this December. And that's something he's embracing wholeheartedly.

In an upcoming interview on NBC's Today, the actor dishes about leaving his 40s behind with his 50th birthday on Dec. 18 and how he's grappling with his soon-to-be AARP-eligible status.

"I haven't minded a bit," he reveals to Ann Curry. "I have no complaints."

It's safe to say Pitt's living a pretty contented life—and why not?

Pitt and partner Angelina Jolie are finally engaged after seven years together and are busily raising a brood of six children between them.

He's also had a string of successful films the last few years—from 2011's critically acclaimed The Tree of Life and Moneyball, the latter of which earned him his third Academy Award nomination, to this summer's box office hit World War Z.

And now Brad's got a new movie coming out that he considers to be one of the most satisfying experiences of his career.

The historical drama 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen, finds Pitt playing a pivotal supporting role as a Canadian abolitionist in a story about a freeman who's kidnapped in the years before the Civil War and sold into slavery.

"It's one of those few films that cuts to the base of our humanity," the Hollywood megastar notes, swelling with pride.

He adds that it's "why I got into film in the first place."

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Pitt, who also produced the movie, adds however that given 12 Years' intense subject matter, he won't be showing it to his youngest kids anytime soon.

"Maybe my eldest I would, right now," he says. "I'd rather for the others to get a little bit older and understand the dynamics of the world a little more."

Kind of like when you're 50, right, Brad?

Pitt's full interview airs on Today on Oct. 16.

(E! and Today are part of the NBCUniversal family.)