Hollywood star Brad Pitt once credited a famous friend for his sobriety journey. The actor, who first opened up about getting sober in 2017, revealed at an awards ceremony that fellow star Bradley Cooper significantly inspired his recovery.
Cooper presented Pitt, then 55, with the Best Supporting Actor award for 'Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood' at the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala in New York City. Accepting the award, Pitt acknowledged Cooper's influence directly.
What Brad Pitt Said About Bradley Cooper's Role in His Sobriety
"Bradley just put his daughter to bed and rushed over here to do this," Pitt said at the beginning of his speech, referring to Cooper's then two-year-old daughter Lea De Seine. "He's a sweetheart. I got sober because of this guy, and every day has been happier ever since."
Brad Pitt's Sobriety Journey
Pitt had been candid about his path to sobriety. In an interview with The New York Times, he revealed that he had "removed his drinking privilege" and began attending a male Alcoholics Anonymous group after feeling he had "taken things as far as I could take it."
"You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard," Pitt said of his experience with AA. "It was this safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself."
Pitt also spoke about his decision to give up alcohol in a 2017 interview with GQ, explaining simply that he "didn't want to live that way anymore." He added, "I just ran it to the ground. I had to step away for a minute. And truthfully, I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good."
Bradley Cooper's Own Sobriety Journey
While Pitt spoke openly about his sobriety, particularly while promoting 'Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood' and 'Ad Astra' in 2019, Cooper kept his own experience more private. However, in a 2015 interview with Barbara Walters, the seven-time Oscar nominee revealed that he had stopped drinking in his late twenties, describing the lifestyle change as "beautiful."
"I would never be sitting here with you, no way, no chance," Cooper told Walters on ABC News in December 2015. "Because I wouldn't have been able to have access to myself or other people or even take in other people if I hadn't changed my life, no way. And I never would've been able to have relationships that I do. I never would have been able to take care of my father the way I did when he was sick. So many things."
While Pitt and Cooper have never appeared in the same film together, the two have enjoyed a close friendship throughout the years. In 2024, Pitt presented Cooper with the Outstanding Performer of the Year award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, highlighting their mutual admiration and support.
