Brad Pitt for GQ UK November 2014

photographed by John Balsom

On marriage: "I wouldn't say [marriage is] just a title. There's more to it than that."

On what he thinks his friend George Clooney meant when he recently called Pitt "unreachable": "Well, you know, George is extremely accessible. He's one of our best representatives. He's funny as sh*t.  He's a joy to be around. I guess maybe I'm more of a miserable bastard. [laughs]. I'm a bit of a loner you know?  I'm more quiet by nature.  And coming from, you know, hillbilly country, I'm probably more reserved."

On choosing work: "I'm actually very snobbish about directors. I have to say no all the time. 'No' is the most powerful word in our business. You've got to protect yourself… To leave home, it's got to be worth leaving. It's got to be worth it."

On purposefully slowing down his acting career: "I've been slowing down for a while now. And slowly transitioning to other things. And, truthfully, I do want to spend more time with my kids before they're grown up and gone."

On considering a TV role: "They're doing great stuff on television. And we [Plan B] have a few television ideas ourselves. So yes, I'd love to do one."

On not being on Twitter: "Listen, I see a benefit in it. You could, you know, combat the misconceptions of the misquotes immediately. And if I'd have had that in my younger days, I'd have used it… because I felt quite used, and completely misunderstood, and misread, and not given the benefit of the doubt. You know, I felt that a lot in my first years. I would have brought some logic to the table, and brought it immediately. But now, at this point, I don't want to bother with it."

On whether he's happy: "I've always believed happiness is overrated, you know? It's those difficult times that inform the next wonderful time, and it's a series of trade-offs, of events, of wins and losses."

GQ UK