Brad Pitt has disclosed that he began drinking alcohol again after maintaining sobriety for seven years, telling Esquire in a new interview that his return to wine has been measured and limited in quantity.
The 62-year-old actor, who is promoting the upcoming racing film F1, said he grew overconfident at times but recognized the pattern was not sustainable. "I got overconfident a couple times, went, 'Yep, nope, not good for me.' Not in big quantities," he said. He described his current approach as professional, adding that he can have a few glasses but cannot have a lot.
Previous sobriety and 12-step experience
Pitt first spoke publicly about getting sober in a 2017 GQ interview, saying he could not recall a single day since college without alcohol or marijuana. At that point he was six months into a 12-step program. Two years later he told the New York Times the program had provided a rare space where men could be open and honest without judgment, calling the experience freeing.
Reference to family crisis and dark period
During the wide-ranging conversation Pitt also described a brief period when he felt he could not see a way out. He said he was never suicidal by nature but understood how the desire for relief from oppressive pain could lead someone to that point. When pressed on the source of the pain he replied "family stuff" and declined to elaborate.
The reference aligns with the aftermath of the 2016 private jet incident involving his then-wife Angelina Jolie and their six children. Jolie filed for divorce shortly after the flight, alleging physical abuse. The FBI and child services investigated but closed the matter without charges. The couple finalized their divorce in December 2024 after one of the longest separations in Hollywood history.
Pitt also reflected on grief, describing it as a "profound beauty" that leaves an aching hole. He credited his congenital optimism for helping him survive difficult chapters, though he acknowledged it has sometimes led him to walk "foolishly head-on into a Mack truck." His longtime collaborator David Fincher once joked that Pitt sees the glass as half full but half full of urine.
Views on artificial intelligence in film
On the subject of artificial intelligence in moviemaking, Pitt argued the technology could help mid-budget productions in the $40 million to $90 million range get financed and completed. He said the quality of an AI-generated performance would depend on who is directing the tool and shaping the output, noting the final choices might not reflect his own discoveries as an actor.
He revealed he has been body-scanned for stunt work for two decades but has always insisted on contractual ownership and destruction of the scans, calling himself a "paranoid Ozark boy." In retrospect he joked he should have kept them.
Based on reporting by Global News.