To mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Brad Pitt has returned to New Orleans.
Pitt, 46, was spotted touring homes Friday in the Lower 9th Ward (Angelina Jolie was spotted there as well).
In an interview that aired Friday on NBC Nightly News, Pitt recalled what he saw when he visited New Orleans after the hurricane.
"It was unfathomable," he said. "I mean, just– you had no idea that there were families and here. It was just wiped clean. Except for the occasional pile up of homes and– on top of homes."
Pitt said he felt compelled to help. In 2007, he helped found Make It Right, a project that has built 34 eco-friendly homes (he wants 150 up).
"I mean, people's– people build their lives here," he said. "And– and– I mean, New Orleans is a unique place to begin with. And I say– a cultural treasure trove for– for America to begin with. But the thing that struck me was that these people were trying to– you know, these people were trying to get home. And– and were having a very difficult time doing so. And as I got into and started studying it."
He isn't the only celeb lending a helping hand.
On Tuesday, Faith Hill performed a free concert to support rebuilding efforts.
"We just couldn’t believe it," she told UsMagazine.com, recalling when she first heard about the disaster in 2005. "We all felt so helpless, but we felt like we had to do something. Like many, many other people around the country who sat and watched the same thing unfold on television, we just started collecting stuff and drove down here. Here we are – after five years. I think this is one of the biggest reasons that makes this city such a great place … it really is neighbor helping neighbor."
Also down south: Actress Sandra Bullock.
On Sunday, she is expected to join Mayor Mitch Landrieu for the ribbon cutting of a new $700,000 health clinic she helped fund.
Not only does she own a home in New Orleans, her 7-month-old son Louis was born there as well.
