The actor writes a tribute to his Bullet Train costar, who is not only “funny as f—,” but is getting Oscar buzz for his performance in Causeway.
In 2016, Brian Tyree Henry got everyone’s attention when he first appeared as the hilarious, perpetually exhausted Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles on Atlanta. Since then, he’s continued to build out an impressive résumé, and this year alone, he rounded out his run on the critically acclaimed FX comedy, stole the show as one-half of a heavily accented, quick-witted brotherhood in Bullet Train — Aaron Taylor-Johnson was the other half — and delivered a devastatingly subtle performance as a man in desperate need of a friend in Causeway, for which he’s (rightfully) receiving Oscar buzz.
To honor Henry as one of EW’s 2022 Entertainers of the Year, Babylon star Brad Pitt — who worked alongside Henry in Bullet Train — pays tribute to his costar.
I was a fan before I ever worked with Brian. I saw him in Atlanta, and I thought, “This guy is hard,” in a good way. He’s the real deal, he’s hard. And then he got cast in If Beale Street Could Talk, for basically what is one extended scene, and I was so moved. I thought, “This guy runs deep.” For me, as an actor, it’s rare that you see someone and get surprised. He’s in this one scene, and he talks about his stint in prison, and it just floored me. The degree of subtlety and difficulty, it’s so finessed. You believe it. You feel this immense pain that the character’s carrying. It’s extraordinary. And then you meet Brian in person, and he’s funny as f—. He’s the kindest, sweetest soul. He’s just infectious to be around.
Category: BP Press
Financial Times
In Thomas Houseago’s WE collective, friendship and recovery are as important as the art
We’re just three dudes, and we’re just making stuff,” says Leeds-born, LA-based artist Thomas Houseago. He’s talking about himself, two of his closest friends – who happen to be the musician Nick Cave and the actor Brad Pitt – and their new collective art exhibition. The bizarreness of this trio is not lost on him. “We know we are totally ridiculous. But it’s real,” he adds, his voice full of energy. “If you see Brad Pitt – the Brad Pitt, right? You know, six pack, abs, whatever – that’s a movie creation. It’s fantastic, I love it. He’s one of the greatest actors of his generation. But there’s another human, that I know, who has enabled me to breathe in a new way. And I would like to think I’ve done the same for him.”
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PS. Is there anyone able and willing to provide magazines scans from Financial Times and Billboard, please?
Billboard
Hidden amid the grounds of a sprawling Provence estate, a historic recording space is reborn — and its co-founders want to make it a “sanctuary for artists to come in and do their thing” again.
I think we need a bigger table,” says Brad Pitt with a proud grin. It’s a rare rainy day in Provence, France, and for the first time, the superstar is about to sit down to a family-style lunch at the newly rebuilt Miraval Studios. An elevated-rustic assortment of tarts, salads, fresh cheese and bread spread out before him. He just needs to find a chair.
Tucked away within Château Miraval’s 2,200 acres — grounds so vast and lush that getting lost driving through them would be easy, but not so bad — Miraval Studios is as private and exquisite a place as any music (or music history) buff could imagine. And yet, it has sat dormant for nearly two decades.
Today, Pitt relays how eager he has been to reopen the space since he started spending time at the property in 2008. (He and ex-wife Angelina Jolie later purchased it for a reported $60 million in 2012.) All it took was being introduced to renowned French producer-engineer Damien Quintard, whom Pitt calls a “wunderkind,” to finally make his dream of creating the ultimate artist escape a reality. Come this month, just over a year since the two first met, Miraval Studios will formally reopen.
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Glamour
The email dropped into my inbox from an unknown source, ‘Would I be interested to meet Brad Pitt to discuss his latest project, a new skincare range called Le Domaine?’ Precise time, date and location to be disclosed, but I had to call a mobile number to get more detail.
As GLAMOUR’s European beauty director, I have met and worked with a fair few celebrities and had some amazing invites, but I’m also a believer that when things sound too good to be true, it’s because they are exactly that. At the risk of the invite being a prank, I had no intention of calling the number, but sent a probing email reply. A week later I hadn’t heard back and kicked myself that maybe, I had just passed up my chance to meet Brad. So I emailed back again, to receive yet another request to call, so this time I thought, ‘Why not? What’s there to lose in a conversation?’
After a pleasant discussion and the understanding nothing would be sent on email to ensure total confidentiality, the offer had gone up a notch. I would travel to Chateau Miraval in Provence, Brad’s sometimes home and wine estate. Yep, the one where he and Angelina got married surrounded by their brood of children; the one that’s currently at the centre of a court case over ownership after Angelina sold her share; and the one that also produces the delicious rosé, Miraval. I mean Brad and rosé – what more could you ask for?
Vogue
Brad Pitt has not read the beauty tutorial memo. We’re 25 minutes into a world’s first interview with the actor, producer, philanthropist, wine producer, and newly minted skin care brand founder at Château Miraval, the sprawling property and vineyard in the South of France that Pitt bought with Angelina Jolie in 2012, and after a few quick-fire questions we arrive at the inevitable part of any skin care founder interview: “What’s your regimen?” I ask, with a certain amount of trepidation. “Can we have a product demonstration?”
Pitt balks, smiling. “I’m not doing that!”
“Maybe just talk about how your routine has evolved, then? Just don’t make it too QVC,” I suggest to the Academy Award–winning actor, hoping he might warm to the idea of applying face creams while being filmed.
“I wouldn’t know how to do that, unless it was a comedy,” Pitt says, laughing. “Actually, Sandy [Sandra Bullock] and I did once try to develop a whole idea of a husband-and-wife team who were QVC’s most successful salespeople, but we’re getting a divorce, we hate each other, and we’re taking it out on air as we sell things. That’s as far as we got.”
