Hollywood actor Brad Pitt has traded his polished red carpet appearance for a blearily disheveled morning look in a new commercial for De'Longhi espresso machines. The 62-year-old Oscar winner plays a groggy version of himself living alongside 16 dogs whose barks are translated for viewers through onscreen subtitles.
The advertisement was directed by filmmaker Spike Jonze, who previously earned acclaim for writing and directing the futuristic romantic drama Her. Throughout the spot, Pitt wanders drowsily around his home while his canine roommates badger him about his daily habits.
Every morning, Pitt trundles through his living room to reach the kitchen and prepare a coffee with his De'Longhi machine. Along the way, the subtitled dogs needle him for waking up late and acting grouchy before escalating their complaints to his household chores.
At one point in the ad, the pack rages at Pitt for leaving his dirty dishes in the sink. Pitt, who recently confessed to being "off the wagon" after seven years of sobriety, defends himself by protesting that he "got in so late last night" before relenting and doing the washing up.
When the actor later changes into a snappy outfit, the dogs offer rare praise by telling him that he looks "nice." The compliment is quickly undercut when one canine snidely asks: "Did you put deodorant on?"
By the end of the commercial, Pitt successfully procures a cup of coffee. As he sips the beverage and sighs the De'Longhi slogan "Perfetto," the dogs laugh at his pronunciation, sniggering: "He said it wrong."
The release of the De'Longhi campaign comes as Pitt awaits the release of his upcoming movie Heart of the Beast later this month. The feature film centers on the relationship between a Special Forces officer and a retired combat dog.
Admission of Drinking Again
The commercial follows recent revelations about Pitt's personal life. In an interview published last month, the actor revealed that he had turned his back on seven years of sobriety and begun drinking again.
Speaking in a new profile for Esquire magazine, Pitt offered his interviewer a glass of wine and noted with a laugh: "I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon."
Pitt clarified his current approach to alcohol, explaining: "In a more restrained manner. I got overconfident a couple times, went: 'Yep, nope, not good for me.' Not in big quantities."
According to Pitt, he is able to indulge in "a few" glasses of wine but has to restrain himself from consuming "a lot. I have to be professional about it."
The actor originally gave up alcohol after the rancorous collapse of his marriage to actress Angelina Jolie. Reflecting on his past drinking in a 2017 GQ profile after getting sober, Pitt confessed: "I enjoy wine very, very much, but I just ran it to the ground."
In that same interview, Pitt remarked: "I had to step away for a minute. And truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good."
Following his split from Jolie, Pitt spent a year and a half in Alcoholics Anonymous. In an interview with the New York Times, the Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood star described attending meetings with "all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard."
Pitt called the group "this safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself." He shared: "It was actually really freeing just to expose the ugly sides of yourself. There's great value in that."
Family Fractures and Legal Disputes
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016 following a mysterious dispute on a private plane in the presence of their son Maddox, who was 15 years old at the time. Early in the proceedings, the FBI looked into allegations that Pitt became "physical" with Maddox on the jet, but the investigation was closed with no charges filed.
Sensational details of the flight surfaced in a court filing submitted by Jolie in 2022. Jolie alleged in her court documents: "At one point, he poured beer on Jolie; at another, he poured beer and red wine on the children."
A source close to Pitt retorted via CNN: "All parties have had this information for nearly six years and was used in previous legal proceedings. There is nothing new here and serves no purpose other than being a media stunt meant to inflict pain."
Jolie and Pitt biologically conceived daughter Shiloh, 20, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 18, and also adopted Maddox, 25, Pax, 22, and Zahara, 21. Pitt is said to be estranged from his children, all of whom, other than Pax and Knox, are now publicly known to have submitted legal documents to drop his surname.
In 2020, Pax furiously denounced Pitt as a "world class a**hole" who made his younger children "tremble in fear." When the nepo baby was involved in a dirt bike accident four years later, his father was reportedly unable to visit him in the hospital.
However, a source alleged this summer via Page Six that Pax still meets with his paternal extended family and has not filed to excise Pitt from his name.
Battle Over Chateau Miraval
The former couple, known collectively as Brangelina, went public as a couple in 2006 and married in 2014 before splitting in 2016, triggering a bitter feud in the courts over property and child custody.
Jolie and Pitt are also still entangled in a legal conflict over Chateau Miraval, the winery they once shared as a couple in the South of France. The feud over the property stems from the fact Jolie sold her half to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler for $62 million in 2021, amid her divorce proceedings.
Shefler presides over a vast international alcohol empire including Stolichnaya and once sold a superyacht to Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman. Pitt sued Jolie over the Chateau Miraval sale, insisting she was contractually obligated to obtain his consent as co-owner before offloading her portion.
Jolie has brought up her abuse allegations and custody battle over the course of her years-long battle of wills with Pitt over the winery. She has asked Pitt to "end the fighting" and drop the Chateau Miraval lawsuit against her so that their family can have a chance to "heal."
Jolie has also alleged that her decision to sell her stake was partly motivated by the impact of Pitt's "acknowledged problem of alcohol abuse on their family."
