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Brad's love scenes: the naked truth Brad Pitt is one of the most lusted-after men on the planet, and even at 40, his knee-weakening effect on women hasn't diminished. But while he now admits to being on the verge of a mid-life crisis, saying he is not convinced men are meant to be with the same woman forever, he also says he is ready to be a dad. Confused? Brad's gorgeous wife, Friends star Jennifer Aniston, must be! Since celebrating his landmark birthday last December, his pin-up status has become stronger than ever, fuelled by pictures of his buffed-up body on the set of Troy and rumours of a romance with his Mr And Mrs Smith co-star, Angelina Jolie. These reports have been hotly denied, but there's definitely no questioning the shape he's in. The bulging biceps, rippling pecs and toned, tanned legs Brad displays in his role as Greek warrior Achilles in the sword-and-sandals epic Troy, are the result of a gruelling six-month body building routine. Based on The Iliad by Homer the $200 million blockbuster has been Brad's biggest professional challenge to date and it represented a huge physical undertaking, too - he even quit smoking to achieve peak fitness. "It was very, very hard," he says of his punishing transformation. "And it was rewarding, too. But I'm not going to pretend that it didn't hurt, because, man, it did..." With the hard work behind him, Brad can now sit back and reap the rewards. For although the movie boasts an impressive ensemble cast, including Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean and Peter O'Toole, Brad will be the movies main draw, as fans flock to see for themselves the results of his labours. As well as seeing their idol in a revealing tunic and armour, they'll see him strip off for love scenes with lucky 24-year-old Australian actress Rose Byrne, who plays young Trojan prisoner Briseis. "He wasn't quite naked," says Rose, who admits that Brad, who has confessed to being "hung like a hamster", was a true gent during the potentially awkward scenes and cracked jokes to put her at ease. "He had his modesty patch on. It's all so ridiculous so you've got to have a sense of humour about it, and Brad's got a very cheeky sense of humour!" "I don't remember telling jokes. I thought I was being suave," quips Brad, in typical self-deprecating style. "Apparently not." Kidding aside, filming intimate scenes can be awkward - even more so when whispers circulate about the kissing co-stars, which is what happened to Brad on the shoot of Mr And Mrs Smith. On-set spies remarked that his chemistry with co-star Angelina Jolie continued off camera, causing Brad to make a rare denial. "Angelina and I were prepared for such stories, but it doesn't mean we don't get annoyed when they actually come out," he fumed. Normally, Brad takes a fairly philosophical view of the tabloid tittle-tattle surrounding him and his wife Jennifer Aniston. "It's either building us up or taking us down," he shrugs. "They make us better than we are and then less than we are. We just don't pay attention to it now, we just turn our backs to it." However, he goes on to say that he's at a dangerous age. "I know there's a mid-life crisis on its way," he admits. "There are some rude awakenings to come. "When you get older, hopefully you get wiser," he muses. "I feel like I'm enjoying the best time of my life. I've got a wonderful wife. I'm very lucky to do a job that I love so, and I'm certainly enjoying life more now than being a tormented twenty-something. I don't worry about the age thing. "I find being 40 a badge of honour instead of something that's going to freak me out. With it comes wisdom and no excuses. I can't blame things on my parents anymore. I'm responsible for my choices and it's up to me to make this life what it's going to be." Starting a family is high up on the agenda for the older, wiser Brad. He now feels ready for what many consider to be the hardest role of all - becoming a father. "It's time," he says. "You kind of grow up, right? And I feel I'm at the place where I have something to teach children, instead of screwing them up. I feel much more at ease now. I was a little bit flaky in younger years - a bit of a drifter." But despite praising his wife, Jennifer, as "a wonderful woman" and saying "I'm very proud of her and I know what a lucky guy I am," he's apparently not buying the whole 'perfect marriage forever' deal. "There is so much pressure from day one to be with someone forever - and I'm not sure if it really is in our nature to be with someone for the rest of our lives. "Jen and I don't cage each other with this pressure of happy ever after. We work it out as we go. You keep going as long as you keep growing. When that dies, we do." The couple met when their 'people' set them up on a date. They married in Malibu in July 2000, and now live in a $14 million, six-bedroom mansion in Beverly Hills. Brad is an enthusiastic amateur architect and has designed a gym, a wine cellar and sky lights for their home. "I never studied architecture, I sort of did it on my own. For a couple of decades now, it's been a personal schooling. I love it. I'll design a shed," he laughs. "Anything..." And if all goes to plan, a nursery will be his next project. Now that Jennifer, 35, has finished filming the final episodes of Friends the timing seems right to have children. It won't have escaped his notice that his former girlfriend, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, with whom he had a two-and-a-half year relationship, is currently expecting her first baby, with Coldplay singer Chris Martin. Newspapers have even hinted that Brad and Jen are already expecting, and certainly the would-be parents are fully prepared to put their glittering careers on hold. "Our idea was to get all of this out of the way before kids come along," Brad confirms. "Because then the kids will come first. So at the moment, we're having a little field day with it but we know that will change. "I used to like to go travel and explore. But it gets harder as you get older and I'm sure with kids, it would be even harder." Brad has just started work with Julia Roberts, and his good friend George Clooney, on Ocean's Twelve, the sequel to the glossy crime caper, Ocean's Eleven and Brad has already shorn the long locks he wore in Troy in favour of a short crew cut... just like David Beckham. "Is that what it is, a David Beckham look? I didn't know he had proprietary rights over it," he laughs. "But Jen doesn't care what my hair looks like. She'll take me as I am..." |
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