Brad Pitt was told to “wrap it up” by an LA county official as he made an impassioned plea for funding for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
The actor appeared in front of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors before they voted on a plan to release $117.5 million (approximately £90 million) in county funds to pay for the gallery to be redesigned by architect Peter Zumthor.
The 55-year-old let his enthusiasm run away with him as he praised Zumthor as “one of the great architects of our time,” prompting chairwoman Janice Hahn to cut him off to prevent proceedings from overrunning.
In his opening remarks, Pitt admitted that addressing the board was “a bit more intimidating than [he] anticipated,” but added: “I love architecture so it’s exciting to be here.”
“[Zumthor] is an architect that builds from the soul, for the soul,” he continued.
As he admitted that he “can’t say enough” about Zumthor’s talent, Hahn was forced to interject, telling the star: “It brings me great pain to say wrap it up, Mr Pitt. It kills me to say that but wrap it up.”
Her remark prompted an outburst of laughter from the room, as Pitt replied: “We actors suffer from verbosity.”
Hahn then joked that “we only do one take here,” before thanking the actor for attending the hearing.
Actress Diane Keaton also spoke in favour of the gallery redesign, telling the board that Zumthor has “been honoured with 16 awards including the Pritzker Prize and the RIBA Royal Gold Medal”.
“Just imagine if you were an actor, that would mean you had won 14 Academy Awards, which is never going to happen so I think that we’re sitting pretty,” she added.
The A-list pair’s combined support clearly proved persuasive, as the board eventually voted in favour of releasing the funding.
The futuristic redesign of the existing LACMA building is expected to cost $650 million (approximately £497 million), the New York Times reports.
After the vote, the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation shared a photo of Pitt alongside county employees.
