In a candid new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the movie star admits he “sought out” the U2 singer after a visit to Morocco made him realise just how severe poverty was in certain areas of Africa.
The life-changing trip forced Pitt to “get off the couch” and join Bono and the other celebrities who attempt to make a difference in the world.
He says, “I sat down with him a few times and got involved in some of the stuff he was doing.”
And Pitt reveals it was shortly after that he met his current partner Angelina Jolie on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith.
He adds, “That may have been one of the things that brought us together. Certainly, I’ve met very few people more dedicated than she is.
“She is always studying issues, daily. She has such compassion for the people she works with.”
Learning from Bono and Jolie, Pitt knew exactly what to do when Hurricane Katrina swept through his adopted New Orleans, Louisiana in 2005.
He explains, “There was a responsibility to make it right, which was not being answered wholly, so I decided to make that a focal point and help families return home, and in the process we started discovering the inadequacies of low-income housing.”
Pitt co-created the Make It Right Foundation in 2007 and began designing and building cost-effective housing for those left homeless by the storms.
