Brad Pitt names his ultimate sporting idol: “I’d give anything to be like him”

Brad Pitt has admired many people during his career, but one sports figure stands above the rest for the Hollywood star: Valentino Rossi.

“We are public figures and it is strange for us to have idols, but I have one who is above everyone else: Valentino Rossi. I’d give anything to be like him,” Pitt said in an interview originally published by Riders Italian Magazine in 2008.

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We are public figures and it is strange for us to have idols, but I have one who is above everyone else: Valentino Rossi. I’d give anything to be like him.

Pitt had previously spoken publicly about Lionel Messi, praising the footballer’s performances on the pitch. But his admiration for Rossi goes beyond the Italian rider’s results. Pitt is drawn to the calm and control Rossi displays on a motorcycle.

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He is always calm, as if he were surrounded by a balance that does not seem human.

“He is always calm, as if he were surrounded by a balance that does not seem human,” the actor said, calling Rossi “a true magician.” He also described the rider’s technique in vivid terms: “What he does with the motorcycle is impossible. It looks as if it weighs 30 kilos and he can fold himself alongside the asphalt without falling. It looks like he is dancing, it is pure art.”

Pitt’s connection to motorcycling is personal as well as appreciative. His collection has been associated with models including an MV Agusta Brutale 910, a Ducati, a Confederate Hellcat F124, a Vespa and several Harley-Davidsons. He has also said that riding gives him greater freedom when photographers follow him. “Actors and paparazzi compete in an unfair sport. Sometimes it is bloody, where pure hatred reigns. That is one of the reasons I use the motorcycle so often, so I can change lanes quickly,” he said.

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What he does with the motorcycle is impossible. It looks as if it weighs 30 kilos and he can fold himself alongside the asphalt without falling. It looks like he is dancing, it is pure art.

His long-standing fascination with speed gained fresh attention after the 2025 release of F1: The Movie, another project linked to the world of racing.

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Actors and paparazzi compete in an unfair sport. Sometimes it is bloody, where pure hatred reigns. That is one of the reasons I use the motorcycle so often, so I can change lanes quickly.