Brad Pitt, better known for his provocative hunk persona in movies, gets in touch with his more tender and romantic side in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," his latest film, a romantic fantasy about the reverse aging process.

Following his journey that is as unusual as any man’s life can be, Pitt, 44, is starring in another holiday offering, sure to melt our hearts that will be released by Paramount and Warner Bros. Pictures on Christmas Day.

The film is an adaptation of a short story from F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who, in 1918, is born in his ‘80s and ages backward; a man who, like the rest of us, is unable to stop time. He falls in love with a beautiful red-haired woman named Daisy, played later by Cate Blanchett, who grows older as he becomes younger.

“Benjamin Button,” is a grand tale of a not-so-ordinary man and the people and places that he discovers along the way, the loves he finds, the joys of life, the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time; all valuable life lessons for us as the year ends and we begin to reflect. The producers have said they have been working on the script for 18 years!

The film is billed as a timeless love story, which centers on both romance and mortality. The movie is peppered with fantasy, drama, and mystery. The film is directed by visionary David Fincher, (Se7en, The Game, Fight Club) who uses cutting edge CGI, computer generated imagery, to digitally graft Pitt’s face onto the bodies of other actors to portray the character at different ages. Watching him go through this reverse aging process is said to be breathtaking.

The character-driven film captures the sweetly doomed, emotional glamour of Hollywood’s golden era well. The movie also co-stars Julia Ormond and Tilda Swinton. One phrase in the movie that stands out and makes us think: “Life can only be understood backward. It must be lived forward.”

Born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Pitt dropped out of the advertising and graphic design program at the University of Missouri, packed up his Datsun, and headed to Hollywood to become a star. Actually, he told his parents and friends that he was off to attend the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

He has been dubbed, “the sexiest man alive,” a fact that millions of female fans around the world have already recognized. As for what he thinks of himself as an actor rather than a sex symbol, he has often said, “I’m a good actor, I’m consistent, but I’ll never be a great actor.” Best known these days for his relationship with actress Angelina Jolie and their ever-growing family, Pitt is one of the most-watched film actors in the world. He is also a successful film producer with his company Plan B Entertainment.

Before this film, he starred as Jesse James in the “Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” and in the Coen Brothers film, “Burn after Reading.” When he is not working, he is traveling the globe with his partner, Jolie, and their six young children – Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and infant twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.

Despite frequently being awoken back home by two-month-old twins, Vivienne and Knox, Brad looked refreshed and calm during his recent visit to the Toronto International Film Festival to talk about his latest films and life at home.

A long-time vegetarian, human rights activist, and philanthropist, Pitt came clean about some private stuff during this recent chat, like midlife crisis, fatherhood, life with Angelina and the possible pros and cons of aging backwards. Being the father of six young children with partner Angelina Jolie, Brad says, is his best role to date.

DelCoMag: Are you and Angelina Jolie going to be a hot item together again in a movie any time soon, after that highly erotic crime caper, “Mr. And Mrs. Smith?”

BRAD PITT: Angie and I are working together every day now, I guarantee you! But it’s not film; it’s family.

DelCoMag: Okay, that’s fair enough.

Brad Pitt: But I was able to steal Tilda [Swinton] away from George for another movie. [Clooney and Swinton starred in “Michael Clayton” and “Burn after Reading.” Now she stars with Pitt in “Benjamin Button.”]

DelCoMag: What’s your new movie all about?

Brad Pitt: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is about a guy who starts aging backwards. David Fincher is the director, and it’s a bit of a love letter to New Orleans, where it is set, and a bit of a love letter to family. Like the people who make dents in your life along the way, is the best way to describe it, really.

DelCoMag: Speaking of aging backwards, is that something you wouldn’t mind doing, and did you have any midlife crisis issues when you hit 40?

Brad Pitt: No, actually. I enjoy being where I am now. No more excuses, you know? I’m responsible. I can’t blame anything on my parents. I’m responsible for my mistakes, and my choices.

DelCoMag: What have you figured out about yourself so far?

Brad Pitt: I’m a big believer that your mistakes define you as much as anything; it’s where you get real understanding of yourself. And intimacy.

DelCoMag: What do you and Angelina like most about each other?

Brad Pitt: I try to steer clear from personal questions about us, but she’s level headed and bright, and incredibly decent – all great character traits. And she’s an amazing mom to all of them.

DelCoMag: So what was it like playing Angelina’s guy in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith?”

Brad Pitt: Really good! I mean; she’s great to bounce off of, and great fun, as you would expect.

DelCoMag: And tough too?

Brad Pitt: Tough! But a toughness that you respect, though. Certainly not otherwise.

DelCoMag: But like physically tough?

Brad Pitt: Oh yeah! Oh yeah. I met my match there.

DelCoMag: Were you ever worried about hurting her, or maybe Angelina hurting you?

Brad Pitt: Yeah, it was a big question for us, of where that line is. You know, of funny versus um...wife abuse! You know; spousal abuse. So our focus was one, to make sure we were equally matched, and two, just to make sure we kept the whole thing at a heightened reality. And the thing I’m surprised at is how well it works. You know, it’s one of the funniest sex scenes in the film.

DelCoMag: How’s fatherhood and do you want to add more children to your family?

Brad Pitt: Probably. Most likely. Parenthood is the greatest and most important endeavor of my life. Why stop at this point?

DelCoMag: You often travel with the children taking them to film festivals and the like, how does that work?

Brad Pitt: It’s easier to handle them one at a time. I love my time with each of them and I have to say that they are the funniest people I know.

DelCoMag: This movie makes you look inward about yourself and your destiny. What have you learned about life?

Brad Pitt: I believe you’ve really got to make your life. And so much of it is perception. And this is the form I built for myself, so I have to accept it and work within those confines. And it’s up to me. DelCoMag: Does being famous – and the so-called sexiest man alive -- excite you?

Brad Pitt: No, I don’t feel that way about fame, but I am human; I can get irritated. It’s not about the fame or the pats on the back. I always keep an eye on the bigger picture. But there’s also a false humility that we learn to adopt, and that doesn’t necessarily lead to the questions, and I’ve always been a questioner. I think that’s what has driven me crazy, and also kept me sane.

DelCoMag: Do you think of yourself as a movie star?

Brad Pitt: No, really that’s not the thinking. It’s about exploring other things, and enjoying that for a while.

DelCoMag: Do you and George Clooney have a good time working together?

Brad Pitt: We’ve done quite a few movies and we always have a good time.

DelCoMag: Do these unusual characters you’ve played, starting with that smart aleck boy toy in “Thelma & Louise,” just come your way by chance, or are you drawn to them?

Brad Pitt: I’m not sure I can completely articulate, I’m kind of groping my way through it, I guess. But I have been investing in American characters lately. I find America really, really interesting in this last decade. Yeah, so that’s been my focus. As for comedies, I feel like I’ve been doing comedies for years. But maybe they weren’t so funny!

DelCoMag: Now about this strange dude you play in “Burn after Reading,” is he anything like you?

Brad Pitt: That was all me. Well, that was all me in a former day! No, I really don’t know. It’s a mystery, even to me. You know, I’m somewhat disturbed by it all, and so is my other half. She’s disturbed by it as well, I think.

DelCoMag: Tell me more.

Brad Pitt: The characters in “Burn after Reading,” as the Coen Brothers readily admit, are clearly “knuckleheads,” but not unlovable ones. They asked the actors to “embrace their inner knucklehead.”

DelCoMag: Tell me more.

Brad Pitt: I didn’t think the guy would be a dumbbell; a gum-chewing, Gatorade swilling, iPod addicted bubble-brain. I said to Joel and Ethan, “He’s such an idiot,” but he does have a good heart.

DelCoMag: Is it hard to play somebody who’s dumber than you in “Burn after Reading?”

Brad Pitt: You approach them all the same way. You just start understanding their arithmetic, how they view the world, and how you give them the situation, and they respond to it. So it’s really no different, this one from any other one. You just don’t know if it’s going to work or not. You know, the leading man role is the guy who has the answers. He can figure things out, and like diffuse a bomb within seconds, and all of that is pretty good for the ego sometimes.

DelCoMag: That makes sense. Go on.

Brad Pitt: It’s much more fun to play the guys who make the wrong choices and who have limited experience, and make the wrong presumptions. They have to deal with it from there, and that’s the fun we had with this one.

DelCoMag: What’s next for you?

Brad Pitt: Family time.

DelCoMag: How’s the sleeping?

Brad Pitt: Not much of that going on with two babies; but it’s all good.