Brad Pitt is speaking candidly about a difficult period in his personal life, disclosing in a new interview that he experienced suicidal thoughts during an especially painful stretch involving family matters, and that he has since stepped back from the sobriety he maintained for seven years.

The Academy Award-winning actor made the disclosures in a wide-ranging interview with Esquire, published August 10. Pitt said he had remained sober for seven years before choosing to drink again, describing the shift as something he approached cautiously rather than as a full return to his earlier habits. "I was sober for seven years," Pitt said. "And then I got back off the wagon. In a more restrained manner. I got overconfident a couple times, went, 'Yep, nope, not good for me. Not in big quantities.'"

Pitt said he now allows himself a few glasses of wine but keeps his drinking limited. "I can't have a lot," he said, adding that he tries to remain "professional about it" when he does drink. His comments follow remarks he made last year describing his earlier experience attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and previous comments in which he credited actor Bradley Cooper with helping him get sober.

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