Actor Brad Pitt made a joke, in an interview with Esquire magazine, about creating a training program to teach football players how to “sell” fouls better. He chose Brazilian striker Neymar as one of the main athletes who, according to his mood, would benefit from his classes, on August 11, 2026.
The artist’s statement came while he was watching a World Cup match, alongside journalist Ryan D’Agostino, who was producing a profile on the actor for the same publication. During a clash between Paraguay and Germany, Pitt expressed discomfort with the exaggerated theatrics of a Paraguayan player after a dispute.
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“I’m going to teach you how to simulate fouls, because these guys are terrible! It’s one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen. I know that forcing a foul is part of the trickery of the game, but these guys need help,” said the actor at the time.
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Following his comment, the American actor decided to choose Neymar as the first “student” of his peculiar school of acting. With a good-humored tone, Pitt made reference to the Brazilian’s well-known style on the field, which often involves dramatic reactions to infractions, and indicated that the attacker would need to improve the way he stages fouls to make them appear more believable.
“And I’m going to start with Neymar, because, as much as he moves like a dancer on the field, he needs help! I’m going to show him how to sell the scene and how to do it with subtlety and without exaggerating too often so that it looks real. I have complete training”, joked Brad Pitt.