Brad Pitt ‘was honoured’ that Belfast artist painted his portrait

The Belfast portrait creator, who is a former pupil of Methodist College in Belfast, was asked in 2012 if he would take Pitt on as a protégé – but refused.

Speaking during an interview with broadcasting veteran Eamonn Mallie, to be shown on Irish TV, Davidson said he had to say no to the award-winning actor because he “wasn’t a teacher”.

He said: “It was May 2012 and I got a call from an attorney in the States saying that he had a client who would like to learn to paint.

“He said he had seen one of my paintings in the Royal Academy and they thought they would like to ask me if I would teach this client to paint.”

But Davidson’s first reaction, he told Mallie, was to say no.

“Look, I don’t really teach, I’m not comfortable teaching,” he said.

Davidson – famed for his large-scale head paintings of the famous – politely declined and suggested Pitt find a teacher in London while he was staying there with time to kill.

But a few months later the call came again – and this time, Pitt’s attorney was more persistent.

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