- Brad Pitt won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood at the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala yesterday.
- Bradley Cooper presented Pitt with his award; during his acceptance speech, Pitt revealed Cooper is the one who encouraged his sobriety.
Brad Pitt revealed on Wednesday night while accepting the award for Best Supporting Actor at the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala that fellow actor (and fellow Brad) Bradley Cooper encouraged Pitt to become sober.
While accepting the award Cooper had presented, Pitt made sure to mention that Cooper was previously on bedtime duty with his two-year-old daughter, Lea De Seine Shayk Cooper, before rushing over to the ceremony to present the award.
'Thank you, Bradley. Bradley just put his daughter to bed and then rushed over to do this,' gushed Pitt.
'I got sober because of this guy, and every day’s been happier ever since,' Pitt announced to the audience. 'I love you, and I thank you.'
Pitt has addressed his journey to sobriety in interviews before but rarely in front of cameras and a crowd of industry elite. It’s the first time Pitt has mentioned who encouraged him to get sober, let alone reveal it was a fellow Hollywood actor.
Pitt referred to his struggles with alcoholism during a chat with Interview magazine last year calling his reliance on drinking a “disservice” and a method of “escape.” Pitt spent a year and a half in Alcoholics Anonymous after his 2016 split from Angelina Jolie and has remained sober ever since.
Bianca Betancourt is the culture editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where she covers all things film, TV, music, and more. When she's not writing, she loves impulsively baking a batch of cookies, re-listening to the same early-2000s pop playlist, and stalking Mariah Carey's Twitter feed.
