Brad Pitt attends Venice Film Festival, speaks about 'Ad Astra' exploring 'masculinity'

American actor Brad Pitt stepped out looking dapper at the Venice Film Festival recently for the premiere of his new movie 'Ad Astra'.

The latest flick sees Pitt's astronaut character Roy McBride blasting into deep space on a mission to save the world and find his long-lost astronaut father, played by Tommy Lee Jones.

Speaking about it, the 55-year-old actor opened up about what the movie meant to him, revealing that he sees it as a commentary on "masculinity," reported People.

"In retrospect, what director James Gray and I were digging at was that definition of masculinity," Pitt said at a press conference alongside co-star Liv Tyler and Gray.

"We've both grown up in an era where we were asked to be strong and there is a value in that, but also a barrier because you're hiding some of those things you feel ashamed of. We all hide and carry individual pain and wounds," he added.

"We were asking the questions - is there a better definition of masculinity for us, a better relationship with loved ones, with your kids and with ourselves?" he continued.

Before the film's release, Gray told Vanity Fair that Pitt's character has "schizoid tendencies," which keep him from really bonding with the people in his life.

"It's really more of an attempt by us to examine a schizoid personality, and how that is preferred for astronauts in space travel because you don't have to connect emotionally," Gray said.

'Ad Astra' is Latin for "to the stars," and was inspired by the first-ever nuclear chain reactions that took place at the University of Chicago in the 1940s, which some thought would set off unstoppable reactions, or "science out of control," Gray said.

Apart from Pitt and Jones, the film also features Donald Sutherland and Oscar-nominated actor Ruth Negga. 'Ad Astra' is coming to the theatres near you on September 20.