The award-winning actor opened up in an interview with GQ that he suffers from a rare condition known as prosopagnosia, which causes him to struggle to remember people's faces. Pitt told GQ he wants to remember the people he meets and fears his struggle has given people the impression he's aloof.
Although not officially diagnosed, Pitt, 58, says he believes he has it.
"Nobody believes me!" he said. "I wanna meet another [person with it]."
Prosopagnosia is a neurological disorder that can cause people to have difficulty recognizing even family members or friends, according to the National Institute of Health. Treatment involves developing other strategies to recognize people, such as focusing on their voices. Some research shows it can affect as many as 1 in 50 people to some degree.
“Prosopagnosia is a condition that affects your brain only. However, it doesn’t just interfere with your ability to recognize faces. This condition is often a source of anxiety for people.”
Prosopagnosia isn’t curable and is usually permanent. And it’s something Pitt says he’s struggled with for a while. Pitt spoke about suffering from this condition in 2013, telling Esquire it's why he stays home so much.
“He struggles to remember new people, to recognize their faces, and he fears it’s led to a certain impression of him: that he’s remote and aloof, inaccessible, self-absorbed. But the truth is, he wants to remember the people he meets and he’s ashamed that he can’t. He’s never been officially diagnosed but thinks he may suffer from a specific condition: prosopagnosia, an inability to recognize people’s faces that’s otherwise known as face blindness.”
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