Brad Pitt says space epic “Ad Astra” his “most challenging film”

VENICE, Italy, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Brad Pitt has fought in wars, pulled off robbery heists and confronted rivals in the boxing ring during his career, but the Hollywood star says his most challenging film yet is playing an astronaut on a life-saving mission in the space epic “Ad Astra”.

The 55-year-old actor takes audiences to the far reaches of the solar system in his role as Roy McBride after a new threat causing disastrous power surges threatens Earth.

McBride sets off to find his pioneering astronaut father, played by Tommy Lee Jones, who went missing more than a decade earlier while on a mission to Neptune.

Set in the near future when mankind has set up living stations and research centres on the moon and Mars, McBride makes his way into the vast abyss journeying through spectacular landscapes and empty space.

The trip soon becomes a journey of self-discovery.

“This has been the most challenging film I have ever worked on,” Pitt, also a producer on the movie, told a news conference at the Venice Film Festival, where “Ad Astra” premieres on Thursday.

“The story … is so delicate and any clip of a frame too early or music cue or voiceover could easily tip the thing over or be too much or be too obvious. It was a constant effort just to try to maintain this balance and try to keep this story unfolding in a very subtle and delicate way.”

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