Brad Pitt Says He Spent Years With 'Low-Grade Depression'

Brad Pitt is embracing life. The 58-year-old actor opens up in a new interview with GQ about everything from recently quitting cigarettes, to discovering things about himself throughout the years, including that he feels he "spent years with a low-grade depression."

“I always felt very alone in my life,” Pitt shares. “Alone growing up as a kid, alone even out here [in Los Angeles], and it’s really not till recently that I have had a greater embrace of my friends and family. What’s that line, it was either Rilke or Einstein, believe it or not, but it was something about when you can walk with the paradox, when you carry real pain and real joy simultaneously, this is maturity, this is growth."

Pitt goes on to describe some things that bring him joy -- and how those feelings of happiness didn't come until more recently.

"Music fills me with so much joy," he says. "I think joy’s been a newer discovery, later in life. I was always moving with the currents, drifting in a way, and onto the next. I think I spent years with a low-grade depression, and it’s not until coming to terms with that, trying to embrace all sides of self—the beauty and the ugly—that I’ve been able to catch those moments of joy."

Earlier in the interview, Pitt also explains that it took him time to find out who he really is. "Out here in California, there’s a lot of talk about ‘being your authentic self,'" he tells the magazine. "It would plague me, what does ‘authentic’ mean? [For me] it was getting to a place of acknowledging those deep scars that we carry."

With all this self-discovery, Pitt is focused on making the next chapter of his life a meaningful one. "I consider myself on my last leg,” he says, noting that he's thinking hard about how he wants to spend it. "This last semester or trimester. What is this section gonna be? And how do I wanna design that?

Pitt also made a major health change -- quitting cigarettes. "I don’t have that ability to do just one or two a day," he explains. "It’s not in my makeup. I’m all in. And I’m going to drive into the ground. I’ve lost my privileges."

The Bullet Train star -- who got sober after his ex, Angelina Jolie, filed for divorce in 2016 and he spent over a year in Alcoholics Anonymous -- opens up about how lucky he felt to have such a strong support system during that period.

"I had a really cool men’s group here that was really private and selective, so it was safe,” he shares. "Because I’d seen things of other people who had been recorded while they were spilling their guts, and that’s just atrocious to me."

RELATED CONTENT: 

Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt Say They Still 'Love' Each Other

Brad Pitt Says Angelina Jolie Tried to 'Inflict Harm' Financially

Jennifer Aniston Jokes About Brad Pitt Divorce on Final 'Ellen' Show

Brad Pitt Accuses Angelina Jolie of Wanting to ‘Inflict Harm’ on Him by Selling Winery Stake

This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.

If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

Up Next

Related Gallery

Must-See Celeb Sightings: June 2022