Brad Pitt praises Gwyneth Paltrow's father BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Brad Pitt has praised Gwyneth Paltrow's late father Bruce, who died in 2002, of helping him to stay grounded and says he still follows the advice he gave to him in the mid-1990s. Brad Pitt credits his ex-fiancée Gwyneth Paltrow's father for helping him to stay grounded. The 'World War Z' star - who has six children, Maddox, 11, Pax, nine, Zahara, eight, Shiloh, six, and four-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne with his fiancée Angelina Jolie - split from the 'Iron Man 3' star in 1997 after two years of dating and a brief engagement but says he still follows advice given to him by her late father Bruce, who told him to always refer to himself as "self-employed" rather than "an actor." The 49-year-old actor told 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.' Gwyneth's father passed away from throat cancer in October 2002 and the 40-year-old blonde beauty, who has two children, Apple, eight, and son Moses, seven, with her husband Chris Martin, recently revealed that his diagnosis was the catalyst for her embracing a healthy lifestyle. She previously explained: "I began to consider the effects of food when my father was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998. I started to research anti-cancer diets in hopes that he would try to hit it from all angles.