Dark Thoughts and a Relapse: Brad Pitt Opens Up

• An honest interview with Brad Pitt.
• A dark period in his life.
• His relationship with alcohol.
• His mixed views on AI.

Brad Pitt opens up with rare candor in a recent interview with Esquire, reflecting in particular on a particularly difficult period in his life that occurred amid his highly publicized separation from Angelina Jolie.

The couple, who married in 2014 after several years together, separated in 2016, initiating a lengthy divorce proceeding. In the years following the breakup, Pitt spoke publicly about his alcohol use and his decision to stop drinking—a step that marked a major personal turning point.

His candid remarks offer a look back at a period when his private life was constantly in the spotlight, while he was simultaneously trying to advance his career and get his personal life back on track.

The conversation with Esquire also turns to his craft and his future. In particular, Brad Pitt discusses the arrival of artificial intelligence in the film industry and the profound changes it could bring to Hollywood. Amid separation, sobriety, self-reflection, and new technologies, the actor reflects on his past while contemplating the next step in his career.

A Dark Period

Brad Pitt candidly reflects on one of the most trying periods of his life. While going through significant difficulties related to “family matters,” the actor explains that he experienced profound despair.

The pain was so intense that, for a brief moment, it made him understand the search for ultimate relief.

“I've never been suicidal, except for a short period. And during that short period, I just thought to myself: I just couldn't do it; I just couldn't see a way out. The pain was so overwhelming that I wasn't going to go through with it, but I could feel—I could feel the cold steel of the bullet in my head—and it felt like relief. And I thought to myself: ‘Oh, okay, now I get it—I understand suicide, in the sense that it's just relief. It's just seeking relief from the pain.' But I also think we have incredible survival instincts. And for me, that kicked in immediately,” Brad Pitt revealed candidly.

No More Sobriety

Brad Pitt also reveals that he is no longer completely sober. After speaking openly for a long time about his decision to stop drinking and the important role that decision played in his personal journey, the actor explains that he has changed his relationship with alcohol.

He now says he can have “a few” glasses of wine—a revelation that marks a notable shift from his previous statements about sobriety.

“I stayed sober for seven years. Then I relapsed,” he said.

He then added: “But in a more moderate way. I got a little too confident a few times, and then I told myself: Yeah, no, that's not good for me. Not in large quantities.”

His View on AI

Brad Pitt remains open-minded about the use of artificial intelligence in film. In his interview with Esquire, the Oscar-winning actor believes that this technology could, among other things, reduce the cost of certain visual effects.

According to him, these savings could allow more mid-budget productions to get off the ground. This perspective leads him to view AI as a potentially useful tool, despite the many debates it's currently sparking in Hollywood.

“AI is met with a lot of skepticism, but it is precisely this technology—if used as a tool—that will allow these mid-budget films, with budgets ranging from $40 million to $90 million, to be made,” he said.

However, he has mixed feelings about replacing actors with AI.

“Well, it depends on who's creating it, you see? Who's behind it all, who's telling the story. Who says, ‘I want to see this emotion in the character,' and who's capable of harnessing what the AI offers by specifying, ‘More in this direction,' and adapting the result accordingly. So it's possible, but the final product might not reflect my choices or what I found and discovered in this work,” he added later.

At 62, Brad Pitt seems to take a clear-eyed view of the trials that have marked his journey. Between that dark period, the evolution of his relationship with alcohol, and his reflections on artificial intelligence, the actor doesn't shy away from tackling sensitive topics.