Brad Pitt opens up about attending ‘private and selective’ Alcoholics Anonymous group
Brad Pitt has opened up about attending a “private and selective” Alcoholics Anonymous group, speaking about identifying “safe” meetings.
The 56-year-old got sober in 2016, embarking on a year-and-a-half long recovery journey, after splitting up with his then-wife Angelina Jolie after two years of marriage.
Speaking to GQ, Pitt said: “I had a really cool men’s group here that was really private and selective, so it was safe.
“Because I’d seen things of other people, like Philip Seymour Hoffman, who had been recorded while they were spilling their guts, and that’s just atrocious to me.”
Hoffman, who won the Best Actor Oscar in 2006 for his portrayal of Truman Capote in Capote, and garnered critical acclaim for roles in films The Master, Magnolia and Almost Famous, died of a drug overdose in 2014, after relapsing.
Elsewhere in the interview, Pitt revealed that he believed his career was on its “last leg”, saying: “I consider myself on my last leg.”
He added: “This last semester or trimester. What is this section gonna be? And how do I wanna design that?”
Speaking to the New York Times in 2019, Pitt said he began attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and continued to do so for a year and a half.
“I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges,” he told the publication.
Detailing what happened at the meetings, Pitt continued: “You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard.
“It was this safe space where there was little judgement, and therefore little judgement of yourself.
“It was actually really freeing just to expose the ugly sides of yourself. There’s great value in that.”
He also outlined how he used to drink in order to “escape” adding: “I’m realising … that I value [my] missteps because they led to some wisdom, which led to something else. You can’t have one without the other.”
Back in 2020, Pitt praised his friend and fellow actor Bradley Cooper for helping him get sober.
The Once Upon A Time actor credited his friend with the feat during a speech at the National Board of Review Gala.
He had walked on stage to accept his acceptance speech for best supporting actor, saying: “Bradley just put his daughter to bed and rushed over here to do this.
“He’s a sweetheart. I got sober because of this guy and every day has been happier since.”
“I love you and I thank you.”
