Brad Pitt says he had ‘one little period’ of having suicidal thoughts

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter

American actor Brad Pitt has said he had “one little period” of having suicidal thoughts.

The 62-year-old Fight Club star said that after feeling that way his “survival instincts” kicked in and stopped him, and added that he had not considered suicide before or since.

He said: “I was never suicidal in any way, it just was not my make-up. In fact, if I have any afflictions, it’s probably being a congenital optimist, which has helped many times, and it’s also gotten me, I’ve walked foolishly head-on into a Mack truck because of my optimism.

“Or, as my forever-funny friend David Fincher will say, ‘yeah, you see the glass as half full, but it’s half full of urine’.

“Anyway, 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 the cold steel of the bullet in my head, and it felt like relief.”

Elsewhere in the interview with Esquire magazine, Pitt said artificial intelligence (AI) would allow mid-budget films to be made and described the technology as a “very interesting experiment”.

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.”

Pitt was later told that AI had made a video of him fighting Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise which had been shared on social media, and was asked whether the technology could eventually replace actors.

He replied: “It depends on who’s creating it, you know? Who’s behind it, who’s telling the story, who’s saying: ‘I want to see this emotion from him’, and then being able to mine through whatever AI provides and going ‘more in this direction’, and tailoring it in that way.

“So, they could, but the final product might not be my choices and what I found and discovered in the thing.

“Look, it’s going to be a very interesting experiment.”

He also spoke about being scanned in films “for the last 20 years” and said he always puts it in his contract for films that he owns them.

Pitt added: “I destroy them, I should have kept them. All this time I’ve always had them destroyed, because I’m a paranoid Ozark boy.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Pitt revealed bad acting “drives me crazy” and added: “It’s why I can’t watch porn.”

Along with 1999’s Fight Club, Pitt is known for films such as Thelma And Louise (1991), Seven (1995), Snatch (2000), The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008), Inglourious Basterds (2009), and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019).

He has won two Oscars and two Bafta awards.

The full interview can be read on Esquire UK.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can freephone the Samaritans 24 hours a day for confidential support at 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.

Alternatively, the contact information for a range of mental health supports is available at mentalhealthireland.ie/get-support.

In the case of an emergency, or if you or someone you know is at risk of suicide or self-harm, dial 999/112.