Hollywood heart-throb Brad Pitt revealed the importance of educating his children about the effects of war as his latest movie Fury brought the BFI London Film Festival to a rousing close tonight.

The 50-year-old actor, who is father to six children with wife Angelina Jolie, plays US army sergeant Don "Wardaddy" Collier in the Second World War epic.

"My boy loves World War Two. He is interested in it and studies it," he said, seemingly referring to the couple's eldest child, 13-year-old Maddox.

"He plays a lot of video games so it's important for me that he understands that war is not glamorous. It has a lot of consequences. There are a lot of families who are hurt by it. So we talk quite often and openly about it."

Pitt was joined by his co-stars including Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Jason Isaacs, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal along with writer and director David Ayer, as they walked the red carpet at the European premiere in London's Leicester Square.

The action movie, which follows a five-man crew of a US army Sherman tank during the last days of the Second World War, was shot in the UK.

Ayer said: "It's a privilege to close this festival. We shot in the UK so this closes the process."

The cast bonded over a gruelling six-day boot camp and their three-month preparations before shooting.

"Shooting this movie was not an enjoyable experience. It wasn't meant to be enjoyable - we are shooting a war movie and war is hell," Lerman, who plays assistant driver Norman Ellison, said.

"The boot camp was formative to the process. That was when we bonded and became a family and we really understood the meaning of what we were doing."

Bernthal, who portrayed Grady Travis, added: "It was rigorous but essential. I'm really grateful for it. It bonded us as a unit, it gave us a team and made us a family."

Earlier at a press conference, Pitt - who was also one of the film's producers - said the role had made him a "better" father.

"I learnt a lot from this film. We all walked away absolutely enriched," he said. "This role is a real study in leadership and learning to command respect and because of this, I am now a better father."

This year's LFF opened with The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch as wartime codebreaker Alan Turing, with stars such as Jennifer Lawrence, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell and James McAvoy attending premieres of films such as Foxcatcher, Whiplash, Wild and The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby.

Fury opens in UK cinemas on October 22.