Brad Pitt clarifies retirement rumors: 'I really have to work on my phrasing'

Is the Bullet Train star ready to retire yet? "No!"

Brad Pitt's bullet train of a career isn't careening off the rails any time soon, the actor-producer has clarified.

"No!" Pitt said with a laugh when Deadline asked him about his retirement plans at Monday night's Bullet Train premiere, after the Oscar winner alluded to the "last leg" of his career in GQ's August cover story. "I know, I really have to work on my phrasing, no, I was just saying, you know, I'm, like, past middle age [and] I want to be specific how I spend those last bits, whenever they may be."

When asked what his plans are for the immediate future, he stressed that he's "never been a five-year plan kind of guy," and that he'll keep his eyes open for "what feels right for the next [project]."

Though he rose to prominence as of one of Hollywood's foremost heartthrobs in films like Thelma & Louise, Se7en, Fight Club, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and his Academy Award-winning turn in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the 58-year-old has balanced his acting career with a gilded run as a producer on Best Picture-winning films like The Departed, 12 Years a Slave, and Moonlight.

Still, Pitt generated intense speculation about potential retirement when he told GQ he considers his ongoing body of work to be part of his "last semester or trimester." He pondered, "What is this section gonna be? And how do I wanna design that?"

Brad Pitt attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Bullet Train" at the Regency Village theatre in Westwood, California, August 1, 2022.
Brad Pitt at the 'Bullet Train' premiere. MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

Pitt's next stop, however, is at the center of the action-thriller Bullet Train, director David Leitch's adaptation of Kōtarō Isaka's novel of the same name co-starring Sandra Bullock and Joey King. The blockbuster — which opens Friday — marks Pitt's second high profile release of 2022, after his Lost City (also featuring Bullock) movie grossed over $100 million at the domestic box office earlier this year.

Watch Pitt discuss his career plans in the video above.

Hear more on all of today's must-see picks on EW's What to Watch podcast, hosted by Gerrad Hall.

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