Brad Pitt Talks Toxic Masculinity and Ad Astra, Plus Photos of Brad in a Tux

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"Ad Astra" Red Carpet Arrivals - The 76th Venice Film Festival
Brad Pitt walks the red carpet ahead of the "Ad Astra" screening during the 76th Venice Film Festival at Sala Grande on August 29, 2019 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

Brad Pitt stars and produces the sci-fi drama Ad Astra, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival today (August 29, 2019), said that the film was a personal one and to some extent dealt with the modern concept of โ€œmasculinity.โ€

โ€œIn retrospect, what James and I were digging at was that definition of masculinity,โ€ Pitt said at a news conference, alongside director James Gray and co-star Liv Tyler.

โ€œWeโ€™ve both grown up in an era where we were asked to be strongโ€ฆand there is a value in that, but [also a] barrier because youโ€™re hiding some of those things you feel ashamed of. We all hide and carry individual pain and wounds.โ€

"Ad Astra" Red Carpet Arrivals - The 76th Venice Film Festival
US actor Brad Pitt arrives on August 29, 2019 for the screening of the film โ€œAd Astraโ€ during the 76th Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP / Getty Images)

The film focuses on the journey of Pittโ€™s character, Roy McBride, to a colony in Neptune to try to save the solar system from a potentially cataclysmic event. The man behind the threat, as the trailer reveals, appears to be his highly celebrated astronaut father, played by Tommy Lee Jones.

โ€œWe were asking the question, is there a better definition for us?โ€ he continued. โ€œDoes being more open provide you with a better relation with your loved ones and with yourself? At the end of the day, thatโ€™s certainly what we were after.โ€

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Pitt also offered some comments about his relationship with Gray, which he describes as not a โ€œnormal male relationship.โ€

"Ad Astra" Red Carpet Arrivals - The 76th Venice Film Festival
(R-L) Liv Tyler, Director James Gray, Ruth Negga and Brad Pitt walk the red carpet ahead of the โ€œAd Astraโ€ screening during the 76th Venice Film Festival at Sala Grande on August 29, 2019 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

โ€œJames and I donโ€™t have the normal male relationship,โ€ Pitt added. โ€œHe would send really personal emails, exposing ideas from his own life. That really would define the dayโ€™s work and the scenes were honed by it, and itโ€™s something I still value. It was a unique experience.โ€

Enjoy more photos of Brad Pitt in a tuxedo at the Venice Film Festival premiere of Ad Astra.