Brad Pitt has heaped praise on his ex-fiancee Gwyneth Paltrow's father, insisting he still follows advice given to him by the late director.

The Hollywood hunk dated Gwyneth Paltrow in the mid-1990s, and the couple was briefly engaged before splitting in 1997.

Despite 15 years, a marriage to Jennifer Aniston and six kids with his current fiancee Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt admits Bruce Paltrow's tip to refer to himself as "self-employed" rather than "an actor" has kept him grounded.

He tells Esquire magazine, "I learned that from Bruce Paltrow. I always liked it. It's a humble way to describe what we do. (If a stranger asks what I do) well, I'd be very Midwest about it, very Missouri. I'd say, 'This and that.' I'd say, 'I'm a dad, just like you.'"