Brad Pitt has often made headlines not only for the characters he brings to the screen but also for the personal struggles that have followed him over the years. Now, amid the long and difficult fallout from his divorce from Angelina Jolie, the actor has opened up about his sobriety, drinking and a particularly difficult period in life.
Brad Pitt Opens Up About Drinking Again
In a recent conversation with Esquire, Brad revealed that after remaining sober for seven years he eventually started drinking again, though he now tries to keep it under control. “I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon,” Pitt said.
He explained that he became “overconfident a couple times” before realising that alcohol was still not good for him.
“In a more restrained manner. I got overconfident a couple of times, went, ‘Yep, nope, not good for me’. Not in big quantities”.
The Fight Club actor added that he can now have a few glasses of wine but needs to remain careful about how much he drinks. “I can have few [glasses of wine]. But I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it.”
Pitt Recalls His Darkest Phase
The actor also spoke about his mental health while discussing the impact of his family struggles. Pitt said there was one brief period when he experienced suicidal thoughts, although he stressed that he did not intend to act on them. “I’ve never been suicidal except for one little period. And in that one little period, I just didn’t see a way out,” he said.
He added, “The pain was so oppressive that – I wasn’t going to act on this but I could feel the cold steel of the bullet in my head and it felt like relief”. The F1 actor said his survival instincts eventually took over and helped him move forward.
His Journey With Sobriety
Pitt had previously spoken openly about joining Alcoholics Anonymous after his separation from Jolie. He spent around a year and a half in the recovery programme and later credited Bradley Cooper for supporting him during that period.
Looking back at his first AA experience, Pitt had said, “I was pretty much on my knees… It was a particularly difficult time. I needed rebooting.”
His latest comments offer another glimpse into a personal journey that has unfolded publicly for years, showing that recovery and personal struggles are rarely as straightforward as they may appear.
ALSO READ: Ohh My Dog Movie Review: A Prolonged Bark
