By Thomas Chau in New York City

I was thinking about this the other day and came to the conclusion that Brad Pitt is the alpha male of our society. The best looking guys in the world emulate him, and the most beautiful women in the world want to be with him. But all of this probably has more to do with his looks and less to do with his rarely seen, off-screen personality, which I found to be incredibly generous and poised to deal with his fame in the most graceful manner.

After a two year hiatus from the big-screen, Pitt returns in "Troy," the Wolfgang Petersen film based on Homer's epic classic poem, "The Iliad." Pitt plays Achilles, the greatest warrior to have lived and fought for ancient Greece. When Paris (Orlando Bloom), the Prince of Troy, steals Helen (Diane Kruger) from King Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson), Menelaus enlists the help of his brother, King Agamenon (Brian Cox), to get her back. But Agamemnon has more than his brother's bidding on his mind: He wants complete control of the Aegean Sea and all that stands in his way is the yet-to-be-conquered land of Troy.

Brad sat with reporters in New York to talk about his new film and also indulged questions about his famous wife (Jennifer Aniston for those of you living in caves), his craziest fan experience, his fame, and also his favorite music.

Q: Brad, how much research did you do into the role of Achilles? Did you reread "The Iliad"?

BRAD: Fortunately, there’s so much that can be done with 'The Iliad.' So many people have written about throughout the ages that I had a great well of information to glean from, and I culled the things that meant the most to me. It really wasn’t that difficult. It was a real isolated character who was in search of himself.

Q: Did you actually read the whole thing or did you cheat with Cliff's Notes?

BRAD: I actually read the whole thing because I knew this question was coming. (Laughs) No, that’s not true. When I started it, though, I really got into it. There’s a reason why it’s still around. It’s one of the great stories in a handful of stories. And you’ve seen how many films and stories are derivative of itself.

Q: What's your take on Achilles?

BRAD: Wow, this may take us a while. There’s a real telling line when he says, "I want what all men want; I just want more." There’s a real restlessness and an isolation in the guy. Whether he’s running from death or trying to find himself in a personal glory, he’s at a point where he’s had that glory and that hasn’t done it for him. The Achilles’ Heel, to me, is representative of his heart. It wasn’t until Priam (Peter O’Toole) knocked some sense into him, with words instead of might, that he was then able to ride out the rest of his life with a personal understanding of the greater humanity and his own inner peace of mind.

Q: You have a great scene with Peter O'Toole. How was working with him?

BRAD: I’ve had a few highlights in the decade or so, but that to me is one that gives me goose flesh. Just to be able to do that (scene) with Peter O’Toole. I love this man very much.

Q: Do you get nervous doing a scene like that with a man like that?

BRAD: No. I would have when I was younger, but now I’m very aware that my game is going to be better when his game is better or her game is better. It’s going to be better. We’re going to get somewhere, because we need each other to take it somewhere beyond. I can’t do it on my own and he can’t do it on his own. Well, he could probably do it on his own. He’s been around a lot longer.

Q: You have some amazing fighting moves in here. Can you talk about the choreography?

BRAD: The choreography was fantastic. It was very important that we find a distinct fighting style. This was Simon Crane, our second unit director, who was responsible for all the strategies and the choreography and the dramas of the fights. He comes from "Saving Private Ryan". He comes from "Braveheart." He’s really top-notch. But in this one it was real important to develop a distinct style. We’ve seen so many fights now at this point that he very smartly took it another way, meaning that in this time when things are faster and harder cuts and slashes he took it back and took a more ballet-ic approach. He was very adamant that we do it ourselves and that we learn it. There are not a lot of cuts. You see it’s more full-figure. You see the death blows. You see the jist of the fight and I'm really, really proud of it.

Q: Did you come up with that really cool power move?

BRAD: No, that was all Simon Crane and his boys, Buster Reeves and Dave Leitch and Mark Mottram. There’s a whole bevy of (these stunt guys). No wires.

Q: You’re all buffed up in the movie. How hard was it getting in shape?

BRAD: It’s amazing what an impending midlife crisis will do for you, really. It got me motivated. I just turned 40 in December.

Q: Can you talk about your training regimen?

BRAD: It sucked. It was brutal. I started out about six months ahead, going in. I got a guy who knew what he was talking about. It was four meals a day of protein and low-carb. It was quitting smoking. And it was two, three hours in the gym, getting to a point of absolute discomfort. After three months I finally started to enjoy it. And on top of that we have sword lessons.

Q: And you’re still not smoking?

BRAD: No, I picked it up again. I’ve actually picked it up, then quit, and then picked it up again.

Q: How hard was turning 40?

BRAD: I see it as a real badge of honor. I really kind of enjoyed it. 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.

Q: Did you do anything to indulge yourself on your 40th birthday? A sports car maybe?

BRAD: No, I didn’t do anything. We were doing the fights on my birthday. I’d always said I was going to get something like a Rolls [Royce]. But then, I got too into the energy conservation.

Q: Did you have a big birthday bash?

BRAD: No, I just came back and had a nice little quiet dinner with my friends and my wife.

Q: Did you get drunk?

BRAD: There was wine. (Smiles)

Q: Do you think you can draw parallels between Achilles' glory and your own glory?

BRAD: You can make parallels to fame, but it’s not near to the extent of the Achilles character. But I could certainly draw on that. And the choice that he’s offered in the beginning and always wrestling with is this crisis of conscience with the choice that he’s made.

Q: Do you find the whole fame game silly?

BRAD: I don’t find it silly. But the fame game… I don’t know how to answer that. I don’t find it silly, certainly. I certainly have been drawn to people or events and learned something about my life from it or emulated something. But it can easily go down the wrong road, when it becomes obsession. I really don’t have a great answer for it.

Q: Can you name an instance when a crazy fan went too far?

BRAD: Well, just when they break in your house. I remember being in Argentina. I was dating [Gwyneth] Paltrow at the time. We were certainly fading off to sleep and in the room I see this figure come in, and it was a little 14-year-old girl who had climbed over the walls and had broken into the house through an upstairs window.

Q: How do you juggle your professional and personal life?

BRAD: I’d been off for two years before [Troy.] I didn’t work at all for two years going into this film. So Jen and I got a lot of time together. And we both accept this aspect of our business and we’re glad to see each other when we can.

Q: Who deals better with career anxiety: You or Jen?

BRAD: We kind of balance each other out. But she probably does it better. We really don’t do that badly at that, either one of us. (Laughs)

Q: Do you have anything special planned with Jen for the "Friends" finale night?

BRAD: Unfortunately, I’ll be shooting "Oceans Twelve." But Jen and the gang are doing a big event.

Q: How is Jen dealing with post-Friends life?

BRAD: She’s really sad to see it go, in a way. She knows it’s a big change in her life. It’s like when you left college; that era is over. She made some really, really wonderful friends and had some times that meant a lot to her. But it’s also the excitement of embarking on the next era.

Q: Would you and Jen ever work together again?

BRAD: If you look through history at couple who’ve worked together...the odds aren’t with us. (Laughs) So it’d have to be really hand-picked.

Q: Are you and Jen planning to start a family soon? Are you looking forward to fatherhood?

BRAD: Yeah, it’s time. I think I’m finally at a place where I won’t mess ‘em up too much. (Laughs)

Q: Do you and Jen still play board games?

BRAD: Yeah, we do. We haven’t gotten to play a lot of them. We like backgammon.

Q: What music are you and Jen listening to these days?

BRAD: We listen to different things, but me, I’ve been really into Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros lately. I’m a big Chris Cornell addict, anything he does. I like the Foo Fighters. I just got into Interpol here in New York. There’s a new band, Franz Ferdinand, and they’re pretty fun. They’re a fun English band. They’re upbeat. And Wilco, I’m still into them.

Q: If you had a superhero power, what would you choose and why?

BRAD: I’d like to turn back time if I could. I’d like to redo a couple of things.

Q: So are you completely happy with everything in your life?

BRAD: No, I’m not completely happy, but I’m also a big believer in that it’s the mistakes that define you as much anything. It’s there that you get real understanding of yourself. You can’t have one without the other.

Q: What can you tell us about "Ocean's Twelve"?

BRAD: It’s really well done. [Steven] Soderbergh is as bright as they come. And it’s really well done. It starts out where we left off. We’re now on the run. Benedict (Andy Garcia) is onto us. We’re on the run and we can’t work anywhere because we’re too hot. So we go to Europe.

"Troy" opens in theatres May 14th.