Brad Pitt reveals why he is no longer sober after seven years of not drinking
Brad Pitt has opened up about why he decided to start drinking alcohol again after being sober for seven years.
The movie star has previously spoken about his relationship with alcohol, including how he had gone to Alcoholics Anonymous after his split from Angelina Jolie.
While he did step back and give up alcohol completely for several years, Putt has revealed that he has now decided to start drinking again.
However, he explained in an interview with Esquire published on 10 August that this is not drinking heavily, but trying to drink 'in a more restrained manner' and know his limits when it comes to booze.
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“I got overconfident a couple times, went, ‘Yep, nope, not good for me. Not in big quantities'," he told the outlet.
He added: “I can have a few, but I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it.”
“I was sober for seven years,” he revealed, “and then I got back off the wagon.”
Pitt, 62, opened up about his previous sobriety, including how he had spoken to a friend about trying to be more balanced.
“And she said, ‘Yeah, you could do that. You could go to an ashram and be more even'," he said.
“But, she goes, ‘I don’t know, I believe in the human experience, and the human experience means I’m here to feel it all. Feel it all. The extreme highs and the depths of the soul-crushing lows'."
Pitt reflected on his this comment had changed his perspective, reflecting that it 'freed' him.
He said: "I heard that and I went, ‘I’m going to stop feeling like there’s something wrong with that.’”
The Fight Club star has previously been candid about his drinking, including turning to AA.
In 2017 he told GQ that he couldn't remember a day since he'd left college when he hadn't been drinking or taking marijuana.
Pitt opened up about further about his decision to get sober in The New York Times back in 2019, saying that he had spent 18 months in an all-male support group.
He revisited the experience in June 2025 when Pitt appeared on the podcast Armchair Expert hosted by Dax Shepard, and said that the group had been very helpful in the early days of his sobriety.
"It was when I first was getting sober," he said. "It was just incredible. Men sharing their experiences, their foibles, their missteps, their wants, their aches and a lot of humor with it."
Pitt went on to describe how he had found it difficult to speak about his experiences early on, but gradually managed to open up.
"I was pretty much on my knees and I was really open," he recalled. "I was trying anything, anything anyone threw at me. It was a difficult time. I needed rebooting."
He added: "And it just meant a lot to me. Everyone was so open."
Pitt also paid tribute to Bradley Cooper for helping him to get sober, thanking Cooper at the Oscars in 2020, telling the audience: “I got sober because of this guy. And every day's been happier ever since."
Please drink responsibly. If you want to discuss any issues relating to alcohol in confidence, contact Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, 9am–8pm weekdays and 11am–4pm weekends for advice and support.
Kit Roberts