Combo photo shows Alia Shawkat and Brad Pitt.

Actress Alia Shawkat has set the record straight. She says she is "just friends" with Hollywood star Brad Pitt.

Last year, the actress was clicked walking out of a Los Angeles playhouse alongside Brad, and the rumours have been floating since then.

"We're not dating. We're just friends," she told Vulture in an interview.

She said that initially, even her friends were curious about their relationship status.

"All my friends were like 'What's going on?' and sending me photos," she said.

"I just felt overwhelmed. It's that feeling of being naked in school, like, 'Oh my God, everyone's looking at me'."

She said that she connected with Brad through director Spike Jonze.

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"We just became friends, and Brad introduced me to his group of friends, and it grew from there," she said.

On the attention she grabbed due to it, she said: "To them it's like, 'We don't get it! This girl is weird! She's so different! Why are they hanging out?

You get too close to the prom king, and all of a sudden, everyone's like, 'Well, who is this?'"