While accepting an award presented by Bradley Cooper, Pitt credited the A Star is Born actor with encouraging him to quit booze.
“He’s a sweetheart. I got sober because of this guy, and every day has been happier ever since,” Pitt said.
“I love you, and I thank you.”
Brad Pitt accepts the Best Supporting Actor Award for ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD from Bradley Cooper at #NationalBoardOfReview #NBR pic.twitter.com/HS6mUVOWSD
— Matt Neglia (@NextBestPicture) January 9, 2020
Cooper presented Pitt with an award for Best Supporting Actor at the National Board of Review’s Annual Awards Gala.
It came shortly after Pitt won the same award at the Golden Globes for his role in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
Pitt has been open about his struggles with alcohol in the wake of his split from actress Angelina Jolie.
He told The New York Times in 2019 that he spent a year and a half attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings following his divorce.
Pitt also explained to GQ in 2017 that he quit drinking because he didn’t “want to live that way anymore”.
“I just ran it to the ground,” Pitt said. “I had to step away for a minute. And truthfully, I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.”
Cooper has been sober since his late twenties, revealing to Barbara Walters in 2015 that if he had kept drinking he “would never be sitting here with you”.