Brad Pitt reveals he started drinking again after 7 years of sobriety: 'I got overconfident'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Brad Pitt has revealed that he started drinking again after maintaining seven years of sobriety. The actor opened up about his changed relationship with alcohol and acknowledged that he had become overconfident about his ability to drink.
The 62-year-old actor got candid about his drinking habit during a recent interview with Esquire, published on Monday, August 10. Pitt said he now drinks in a more restrained manner and knows he cannot consume alcohol in large quantities.
Brad Pitt says he now drinks in a more restrained manner
Pitt revealed to the publication that he “got — I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon.” He, however, also mentioned that he now drinks “in a more restrained manner. I got overconfident a couple times, went, Yep, nope, not good for me. Not in big quantities.”
“Well . . . I can have a few. But I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it,” the ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ star asserted.
Brad Pitt called his recovery group a 'safe space'
Pitt has previously been open about his struggles with drinking. He revealed that the issue led him to join an all-male recovery group in Alcoholics Anonymous in 2017, nearly a year after his former wife Angelina Jolie filed for divorce.
In 2019, the father of six spoke with The New York Times and opened up about joining the recovery group. He stated, “It was actually really freeing just to expose the ugly sides of yourself. There’s great value in that.”
The Academy Award winner added, “I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges. You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard. There’s great value in that.”
Pitt had previously described the group as a safe space where people could be open and honest without judgment.
Brad Pitt thanked Bradley Cooper for helping him get sober
A year later, Pitt publicly thanked Bradley Cooper for helping him in his sobriety journey.
While accepting the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ‘Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood’ at the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala in 2020, he reportedly said, “I got sober because of this guy. And every day's been happier ever since. I love you and I thank you.”
Cooper has also spoken publicly about his own decision to stop drinking and the impact sobriety had on his life.
Bradley Cooper talked about his own sobriety journey
Like Pitt, Cooper had also struggled with addiction.
During a 2012 interview, he reportedly said, “I don't drink at all anymore. Being sober helps a great deal.”
The ‘American Sniper’ star also disclosed one moment that contributed to his decision to get sober.
“I was at a party and deliberately bashed my head on the concrete floor...like, 'Hey, look how tough I am!' And I came up, and blood dripped down. And then I did it again. I spent the night at St. Vincent's Hospital with a sock of ice, waiting for them to stitch me up,” Cooper explained.
