Brad Pitt: Jennifer Aniston Comments Got 'Misconstrued'

Brad Pitt probably wishes he'd never mentioned his marriage to Jennifer Aniston to Parade magazine.

In a Today show interview that will air Thursday, the actor continued to explain why he said, "It became very clear to me that I was intent on trying to find a movie about an interesting life, but I wasn’t living an interesting life myself. I think that my marriage had something to do with it. Trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn’t."

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Says Pitt to Lauer: "I don't know what was pieced together or put together. All I know is that my point was, the best thing I'd done as a father is be sure that my kids have a good mother."

"That's all I was, or am, trying to say," adds Pitt. "It has no reference to the past. And I think it's a shame that I can't say something nice about Angie without Jen being drug in. You know, she doesn't deserve it."

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Pitt goes on, "I don't wanna be encumbered by any of that. I know my intentions, and I know what I believe, and I know things get misconstrued, and I know there's a good cycle and a good story to say we're splitting up. And then when we don't, they say we've come together again, it's another new cycle, and then there's a secret wedding. 'No, that was put on hold because they're upset.' It's, you know, that's-- I live outside of that, and it's much healthier."

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When Lauer asked Pitt about the statement he released to The Hollywood Reporter and other outlets clarifying his comments, Pitt says, " I don't want them to say anything bad like that about Jen. She's a dear friend of mine."

He denies that Aniston called him after his quotes came out. "She's also a seasoned veteran and she knows. You know, and she's a valuable person. We spent seven years together. Come on."

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Pitt also downplayed the Oscar buzz for Moneyball, which opens in theaters this Friday.

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"Well, it was-- it remains a great piece of material for me that I got to take on. And, we're all-- it's too early to talk about all that other stuff. It's all good fun if your number comes up, and it's even more fun when your friend's number comes up," Pitt tells Lauer.

Pitt says he was drawn to the movie for reasons other than it being about sports.

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"Well, it's certainly a sports film. Baseball is its backdrop. I love process and getting inside in films. I love movies about process. And so there we get inside baseball. We get under the stadium and into the offices and into the clubhouse," he says.