Brad Pitt is sober and as chill as ever.
The actor and producer, who will next star in “Ad Astra,” spoke with The New York Times and said when he committed to starring in the space film, he was admittedly dealing with family problems with his ex, Angelina Jolie.
“I had family stuff going on,” he told the publication. “We’ll leave it at that.”
“Ad Astra” writer and director (and close Pitt friend) James Gray explained Pitt’s state of mind at the time a bit more.
“He definitely used the stimuli from his life,” Gray said. “Now, I didn’t get personal with him about it at all – I don’t think it’s my business, or even my job – but he investigated the essence of the character through himself.”
Pitt also opened up about his sobriety.
“I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges,” Pitt said, adding that he spent a year and a half in a men’s group in Alcoholics Anonymous.
“You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard,” Pitt said. “It was this safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself.”
He said was humbled and grateful the group honored his privacy.
“It was actually really freeing just to expose the ugly sides of yourself,” he said. “There’s great value in that.”
Pitt’s production company, Plan B, is also thriving.
He was having a spaghetti dinner at Gray’s discussing “Ad Astra” on Oscar night two years ago when that infamous envelope mixup left everyone stunned. (“La La Land” was mistakenly announced as best picture, when the real winner was in fact “Moonlight.”)
Pitt was an executive producer on the film.
When he saw that the movie was the actual winner, “He said, ‘Oh wow, that’s cool,’” Gray recalled. “He wasn’t unappreciative, obviously, but Brad won’t get caught up in pomp and circumstance. I think he knows to stay centered.”
