BRAD Pitt defends his screen family from zombies in his latest film and in real life the star’s loved ones mean everything to him.

Once billed as the most attractive man on the planet, these days he’s the A-list poster boy for family values, and the devoted dad of six is happy to admit that he’s prioritising his beloved brood ahead of everything else.

In fact, it was his fiancee, Angelina Jolie, who stole the limelight at the UK premiere for Pitt’s latest film World War Z.

The event was 38-year-old Jolie’s first red carpet appearance since revealing last month that she’d undergone a preventative double mastectomy after discovering she carried the “faulty” BRCA1 gene, which sharply increased her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

Her decision to “go public” led to a huge outpouring of respect and admiration for the actress – with Pitt leading the praise.

“I love her, it brings you closer and makes you stronger,” he said.

Jolie, whose own mother was 56 when she died of ovarian cancer, underwent weeks of hospital appointments, invasive surgery and recovery during the early months of 2013.

“It doesn’t have to be a scary thing. In fact, it can be empowering,” said Pitt.

“It’s been an emotional and beautifully inspiring few months.

“It’s such a wonderful relief to come through this and not have a spectre hanging over our heads. My proudest thing is our family.”

Pitt’s transformation from ladies’ man to family man is well and truly complete.

Once engaged to Gwyneth Paltrow, he married former Friends actress Jennifer Aniston in 2000, before they split in 2005.

It was rumoured that his relationship with Jolie, whom he met on the set of Mr And Mrs Smith, caused the break-up, and while allegations of adultery were denied from both camps, Pitt and Jolie later admitted they “fell in love” while working on the film.

The couple are parents to three biological children – Shiloh, seven, and four-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne – and three adopted kids: Maddox, 11, Pax, nine, and eight-year-old Zahara.

In World War Z, directed by Marc Forster of Quantum Of Solace, and based on Max Brooks’s post-apocalyptic horror novel, Pitt plays former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane.

Lane is tasked with having to save his family while trying to find and stop the source of the epidemic that’s turning people into zombies.

“These zombies are scary as hell,” he said.

“And the movie, I believe, works on numerous levels. But primarily, it’s complete summer fun and something I wanted to do for my sons to enjoy.”