Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have only worked together on film once, in the 2005 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Now, though, their careers have taken another convergence with Jolie’s most recent directorial effort, By the Sea. And Pitt has some very clear ideas on why his wife works so well as a director, and in directing him, particularly.
Brad Pitt gave his opinion to V Magazine for his cover story in their winter issue. He told them:
She's decisive, incredibly intuitive, knife-sharp, and might I say, sexy at her post. I trust her with my life. For this one, I operated on pure instinct. Angie and I have too much history and understanding of each other to question beyond there.
There’s nothing better than having someone in your corner whenever you take on a tough job, and Pitt has clearly got Angelina Jolie’s six on this one. If anyone can be called decisive and intuitive, it would be Jolie. As someone who made tabloid headlines right before hooking up with Pitt for being the unpredictable, blood-filled vial-wearing wild child of Hollywood for several years, she does seem like someone who makes a decision and sticks to her guns. In her years with Pitt she’s also proven herself capable of making complete changes in her life at the drop of a hat. Jolie is described as being knife-sharp, and I can see that, too. Here’s a woman who knows how to take on the duty of speaking out for various causes that she thinks people should be aware of and care about as much as she does. Of course, she can consider some deep, complicated subjects and dissect them with relative ease.
It’s obviously no surprise that Brad Pitt thinks Angelina Jolie is sexy, especially when she’s in charge. No one has several kids with someone in a ten-year period without thinking that person is pretty damn hot. After all he’s said about her, though, what’s most important about the quote is what comes after. Pitt describes the effect Jolie’s work behind the camera had on him as an actor. Operating on pure instinct is something every actor must strive for; that ability to completely detach from the unnecessary parts of your own life and totally connect with the character’s struggle. It must be nice to have somebody who can easily bring that out in you.
Also, it’s no secret that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have a lot of history together. Their work in Mr. & Mrs. Smith set off a near constant stream of gossip over the past ten years. This relationship has been photographed, picked apart and even admired with the sort of vehemence only directed at the highest level of Hollywood couples.
While Angelina Jolie stars in By the Sea and helmed the movie, she also wrote the tale of a couple’s emotional fallout. And keeping their work as a family affair as often as possible might help this real life couple stay together for a long time.
By the Sea opens on November 13.
