Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

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Despite craving alone time with their family of six, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrived arm in arm September 18 at the New York premiere of Pitt’s latest film, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”

“He [Brad] is a great actor, and I love him, so it’s wonderful to see him do his work,” Jolie raved, although she admits she doesn’t see him as a huge Hollywood star. “I see him as ‘Daddy,’” she said, smiling.

Jolie looked wide-eyed in the middle of all the camera flashes and screaming fans at the Ziegfeld Theater, where the premiere took place. “We talk often about how nice it’s going to be when we’re not as in the public eye,” said Jolie, who posed for photographers in her L'Wren Scott dress but coyly deflected questions about her ever-growing brood. “We’re like anybody — we appreciate being able to be in this business and to have had careers — and it’ll be nice when life gets quieter.”

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The couple got a taste of that peace while filming “Jesse James” in Alberta, Canada, during the fall of 2005. “We had a really good life there,” Pitt said, his face glowing at the mention of his children. “We rented a log cabin out on the river and played in the woods.”

Now completed and opening in theaters September 21, the movie follows the complicated life of outlaw Jesse James (played by Pitt), whose infamy made him one of America’s very first celebrities. However, the film suggests that behind James’ robbing sprees and horrific killings lay a tormented soul whose life suddenly ended when he was shot in the back by one of his greatest admirers, Robert Ford (played by Casey Affleck).

Pitt, who is swarmed by paparazzi and press throughout the world, says James’ notoriety resonates with him. “It’s a constant negotiation,” Pitt said of the media attention surrounding him and his family. “We just figure it out as we go along. Grope your way through it.”

Gloria Estefan followed the Pitt-Jolies along the red carpet. She is celebrating her latest album, “90 Millas,” which, she pointed out, just debuted at number one in the Netherlands. Asked to choose her favorite song ever, Estefan replied, “Oh God, that’s impossible! This is my 25th album!”

With the film moments away from starting, Estefan was escorted into the theater, but villain-playing Affleck made a last-minute stop to praise his costar’s work on the movie. “Brad’s just extremely talented, really hardworking, always prepared, and then he goes off and does a million other things that are good for the world,” he said. “You sort of wonder where he gets the time.”

Someone who didn’t get such high praise from the crowd? George Clooney, who quickly guided new flame Sarah Larson past the press line, choosing not to stop for pictures amid loud “boos” from photographers.

Earlier, Clooney’s coprankster Brad Pitt let down his guard and took a friendly jab at his close pal: “He’s getting older and his star is fading,” Pitt joked about Clooney. “I think we should just help him along as best we can.”