Brad Pitt experienced suicidal thoughts as he navigated 'family stuff' following Angelina Jolie split
Brad Pitt has confessed that there was "one little period" during which he felt "suicidal" as he navigated "family stuff" following his acrimonious separation from Angelina Jolie.
Brad Pitt felt "suicidal" as he dealt with "family stuff" following his split from Angelina Jolie.
The Fight Club star has confessed that he "didn't see a way out" following his acrimonious separation from the Changeling actress in 2016.
Brad – who has six children with Angelina – told Esquire UK: "I've never been suicidal except for one little period. And in that one little period, I just thought – I just couldn't – just didn't see a way out.
"The pain was so oppressive that – I wasn't going to act on this, but I could feel – I could feel the cold steel of the bullet in my head, and it felt like relief.
"And I thought, 'Oh, okay, now I understand' – I understand suicide, in the sense that it's just relief. It's just looking for relief from the pain. But I also think we have incredible survival instincts. And for me, that immediately kicked in, but it was just..."
The 62-year-old actor added: "This s*** ain't easy. And you're talking to a guy who won the lottery."
When asked if he was dealing with "kid stuff", Brad replied: "Family stuff. We could leave it at that."
Elsewhere in the interview, the F1 actor revealed that he is no longer sober after going seven years without drinking.
Pitt said: "I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon.
"In a more restrained manner. I got overconfident a couple times, went, yep, nope, not good for me. Not in big quantities."
The Hollywood icon explained that he "can have a few glasses of wine" but "can't have a lot".
Brad said: "I have to be professional about it."
Meanwhile, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star has predicted that AI will have a major role to play in the future of the movie industry.
He said: "There's a lot of pushback against AI, but AI is going to be the very thing that, if used as a tool, is going to help these mid-budget films, forty-to-ninety-million-dollar budgeted films, get made."
Read the full interview with Brad Pitt at https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/film/a73360477/brad-pitt-interview-2026/
