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Brad Pitt Turns Down Guest Spot On ‘Top Gear’ But Will Wave The Flag At Le Mans

By Anne Sewell
Published on: 21:04 PST, May 19, 2016

Newly-revised motoring series Top Gear was hoping to have Brad Pitt as a guest star on their opening episode. However, the World War Z star is busy on two film projects right now and reportedly turned them down. He will, however, be at yet another popular motoring event, the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

Brad Pitt is currently living in the U.K. with the whole family while he shoots two movies, World War Z 2 and Allied, and his wife Angelina Jolie Pitt gets involved in humanitarian work. Reportedly he had said he would appear in Top Gear’s vintage segment, “Star in a Reasonably Priced Car,” but it seems that is not going to happen.

Chris Evans was hoping that having an A-list Hollywood actor would bring massive ratings for the motoring show’s new format, but now they’ve brought in Jesse Eisenberg alongside British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay instead.

According to a report by the Express, a source told The Sun, “Brad has obviously had filming issues so they’ve had to quickly find another Hollywood name and came up with Jesse.”

The source continued by pointing out that Eisenberg, 32, recently played Lex Luthor in the latest Batman vs. Superman movie “but is not a heartthrob or a name anything like Brad.” They continued by saying “Chris Evans is not known in the U.S. so they’ve had to bring in two guests instead of one each week to build the brand out there.”

Speaking of Ramsay, the source said that he is a huge U.S. TV star “so that will help,” but this is reportedly not the start Evans or the producers really wanted for their first episode of Top Gear.

However while that story is doing the rounds in the media, according to a report by Contact Music, Evans and co-presenter and former Friends star Matt LeBlanc have denied it, saying Brad Pitt was never going to appear.

A spokesman for Top Gear said, “There is no truth in this story, we never approached Mr. Pitt.”

However Evans has reportedly written in his Daily Mail column that with all the negative media since they started filming at the beginning of the year, he is “preparing for the worst while hoping for the best” with the revamped show.

“As a consequence of the mud-slinging, I have taken to daily, contemplative soaks in the bath-tub of ‘worst-case scenario’. I am a realist hoping for the best, while preparing for potential imminent career death.”

Reportedly Top Gear returns on Sunday May 29th on BBC Two and is scheduled to be broadcast simultaneously in up to 50 countries.

However, while Brad Pitt may or may not have been invited to appear on Top Gear, the Hollywood actor will be involved in another motoring event. Pitt will reportedly be at the track side at the Le Mans 24 Hours auto race on June 18, waving the flag to start the grueling race.

People reports this will be the first time an actor has been the honorary starter in the last 20 years, with the last film star to have the honor being the French film idol Alain Delon.

Reportedly Phillip Fillon, the President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest who organize the event, made the announcement on Twitter.

However, while Pitt is one of just a few Hollywood actors to wave the flag, several others have been involved in the race itself in one way or another in the past. Reportedly, Steve McQueen starred in the 1971 film Le Mans, which featured actual footage from the race.

Eight years later, Hollywood actor and racing enthusiast Paul Newman reportedly competed in a trial at Le Mans, driving a Porsche 935, and managed to come in second in his category.

[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for PSIFF]

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