Brad Pitt said his favourite actor is the 'most beautiful woman on the screen'

Brad Pitt may have worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, but his favourite actor of all time isn’t necessarily a name you might expect.

Yep, Pitt has shared the screen with everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Julia Roberts, but it seems he isn’t necessarily impressed by the sheer star power of his tinseltown peers, having named a veteran of the New York theatre scene as the greatest – describing her as the ‘most beautiful woman’ in the business.

Pitt shared his opinion on the matter way back in 1996, when he was asked about this favourite actors in the industry.

“I know very few men to look up to,” he told Tiger Beat magazine.

“That’s why I appreciate the older films because they show a man standing up for his principles. Like [Robert] Redford. He portrayed the kind of man men wanted to be, and the kind of man women wanted men to be.”

He argued that the greatest stars aren’t always people that would be referred to as ‘sex symbols’, despite appearances being a huge factor in Hollywood.

Speaking about the relationship between beauty and his profession, Pitt explained: “When you see a person, do you just concentrate on their looks? It’s just a first impression. Then there’s someone who doesn’t catch your eye immediately, but you talk to them, and they become the most beautiful thing in the world.”

His favourite thespian of all time was someone not known for being a ‘sex symbol’, naming 74-year-old Edward Scissorhands and Footloose actor Dianne Wiest.

WENN Rights Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo

“The greatest actors aren’t what you would call beautiful sex symbols,” Pitt said, adding: “I’ll tell you who my favourite actress is: Dianne Wiest. And you wouldn’t call her a sex symbol. Dianne Wiest is, to me, the most beautiful woman on the screen.”

After studying theatre at the University of Maryland, Wiest made her Broadway debut in 1971 with Robert Anderson's Solitaire/Double Solitaire.

20th Century Fox

She went on to forge an incredibly successful career on stage, before also making it big in film – winning two Acadamy Awards for Woody Allen flicks Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets Over Broadway.

Other notable film gigs also include Parenthood, Practical Magic, The Lost Boys and Dan in Real Life, while she has also had TV appearances in Law & Order, Life in Pieces and more.