Brad Pitt said he thought about suicide during an especially difficult period of his life, which he linked to family issues, in a new interview with Esquire.
The 62-year-old actor said he came to understand why a person might consider suicide as a way to escape emotional pain.
Pitt first made clear that he has not generally had suicidal thoughts. He said he never had suicidal thoughts, for any reason, at any point, adding that it simply was not in his nature. He described himself as naturally optimistic, and said that optimism has both helped him and, at times, led him toward the wrong choices.
A brief period of feeling trapped
Pitt then revealed there was what he called one little period when he felt he could not see a way out of the pain he was experiencing. He said he did not intend to act on the thoughts, but he described how he felt at the time. He said that in that small period, he just thought he could not do it, that he simply did not see a way out, and that the pain was so overwhelming. He said he was not going to do anything, but he could feel the cold steel of a bullet against his head, and it felt like relief.
He said the experience changed the way he understood suicide, not as something he himself wanted to do, but as an attempt to find relief from unbearable pain. He said he thought to himself that now he understood, that he understood suicide in the sense that it is simply relief, simply the search for relief from pain.
Survival instinct and the family issues he would not name
Pitt said he believes people have a powerful survival instinct, and that in his own case, that instinct kicked in immediately. He said these things are not easy, adding that he says this as someone who won the lottery.
When the interviewer asked whether the difficult period had to do with his children, Pitt declined to elaborate. He said it was family issues, and asked to leave it there.
Estrangement from some of his children
Pitt's comments come as he remains estranged from some members of his family. He and Angelina Jolie separated in 2016, and their divorce was finalized in 2024 after years of legal disputes. The couple have six children together: Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, Pax, Knox and Vivienne.
Four of the children have taken steps to remove the surname Pitt from their names. Their daughter Shiloh's request was approved in August 2024, while requests from Zahara and Maddox remain pending. Pitt himself has not publicly commented on his children's decisions. In an earlier interview, however, he spoke about how important it is for him to be close to the people he loves and who love him.
