Brad Pitt admits that in heavy drinking he was 'doing a disservice to himself'

Brad Pitt has admitted that his heavy drinking was 'an escape', and that he found that he was doing was 'a disservice' to himself.

The Once Upon A Time In Hollywood star makes the remarks in an conversation with acting legend Sir Anthony Hopkins for Interview magazine.

The pair, who starred together in the 1998 movie Meet Joe Black, speak honestly about past struggles, Hopkins having given up drinking almost 45 years ago after beating alcoholism.

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“I’m realizing, as a real act of forgiveness for myself for all the choices that I’ve made that I’m not proud of, that I value those missteps, because they led to some wisdom, which led to something else,” Pitt says.

“You can’t have one without the other. I see it as something I’m just now getting my arms around at this time in my life. But I certainly don’t feel like I can take credit for any of it.”

Hopkins then says to Pitt: “I’ve read you had a struggle with booze and all that.”

To which Pitt replies: “I just saw it as a disservice to myself, as an escape.”

Hopkins goes on to say that despite quitting drinking, he's 'not an evangelist' about it.

“But I look at it, and I think, 'What a great blessing that was', because it was painful,” says Hopkins.

“I did some bad things. But it was all for a reason, in a way. And it’s strange to look back and think, 'God, I did all those things?' But it’s like there’s an inner voice that says, 'It’s over. Done. Move on.'”

Pitt then adds: “I think we’re living in a time where we’re extremely judgmental and quick to treat people as disposable. We’ve always placed great importance on the mistake. But the next move, what you do after the mistake, is what really defines a person.

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“We’re all going to make mistakes. But what is that next step? We don’t, as a culture, seem to stick around to see what that person’s next step is. And that’s the part I find so much more invigorating and interesting.”

Pitt opened up about his struggles with alcohol and drugs in 2017, calling himself 'a professional boozer' in an interview with GQ.

“I can’t remember a day since I got out of college when I wasn’t boozing, or had a spliff, or something,” he said.

“I mean, we have a winery. I enjoy wine very, very much, but I just ran it to the ground. I had to step away for a minute.

“Truthfully, I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a ­professional. I was good.”