Brad Pitt - Novak's Nerves Over Pitt Small Talk

Actor B.J. NOVAK struggled to establish a friendship with BRAD PITT on the set of their new movie INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, because he felt like a "tabloid reporter" every time he attempted to make small talk with the Hollywood superstar.

Pitt stars in Quentin Tarantino's World War II film as a Jewish-American soldier who sets out to take revenge on as many Nazis as possible.

Novak plays one of Pitt's comrades in the war comedy and found himself spending a lot of time alone with the Ocean's Eleven actor during the movie's production.

But he was at a loss for words whenever he tried to get to know Pitt better, because Novak feared asking casual questions about the welfare of his family with girlfriend Angelina Jolie would come across as an interrogation for gossip.

Novak, who also stars in the U.S. version of TV comedy The Office, says, "First I came on set and I just met him and it was cool, I told my friends, 'I met Brad Pitt!'

"Then we shot the scene and at one point in the movie Brad and I get kidnapped together and we're in the back of a truck. We're shooting it for three hours and it comes to the time to really know Brad Pitt, not just meet him.

"He's the greatest guy in the world, asking questions, making polite conversation. He's like, 'So, how's The Office going? How was it like moving from Boston to Los Angeles?' And I'm like, 'Well Brad...', just so comfortable and it occurs to me, 'Oh my God, it's going to be my turn to ask questions next and I don't know what to ask Brad Pitt that doesn't feel like you're some tabloid reporter! Like, 'How's the girlfriend? How's the being Brad Pitt thing?'

"In the end I was like, 'How's things going?' And he was like, 'Oh great, there's this and there's that.'"