Brad Pitt reveals why he quit drinking

Brad Pitt revealed he sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous while trying to get sober.

The Hollywood star, 55, told the New York Times he decided to quit drinking amid his split from Angelina Jolie, 44, who filed for divorce in 2016.

He said: “I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges.”

Pitt, who is currently starring in space drama Ad Astra, said attending AA meetings was “freeing”.

“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 judgement and therefore little judgement of yourself.

“It was actually really freeing just to expose the ugly sides of yourself. There’s great value in that.”

Pitt, who earlier this year starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, has been among the early tips for Oscar success for his role in Ad Astra.

The James Gray-directed sci-fi drama sees Pitt playing an astronaut who goes into space in search of his lost father.

Pitt said he drew inspiration for his performance from his own father, who owned a trucking company.

He said: “I grew up with that be-capable, be-strong, don’t-show-weakness thing.

“In some ways, I’m copying him. He had grown up in extreme hardship and poverty, always dead set on giving me a better life than he had – and he did it. But he came from that stoic ilk.”

Ad Astra will be released in UK cinemas on September 18.