He described his all-male Alcoholics Anonymous group as a place where members spoke with a level of honesty he had rarely encountered. The lack of judgment, he said, also helped him judge himself less harshly.
Cooper’s exact role was never fully detailed, but Pitt’s tribute made clear that the A Star Is Born director had helped him seek or maintain sobriety. The two had never appeared in a film together. Apparently, Hollywood relationships can exist without a franchise announcement.
Cooper’s recovery began with Will Arnett
Cooper’s own path away from alcohol and drugs started years earlier, and another actor played the decisive role. On the SmartLess podcast, Cooper credited Will Arnett with forcing him to confront his behavior during a difficult conversation in 2004.
Cooper called Arnett “the reason” he changed his life. Arnett said he confronted his friend because he loved him and wanted him to be well. The exchange offers a clearer picture of how support moved through this group: Arnett helped Cooper recognize his problem, and Cooper later supported Pitt.
Before becoming sober at 29, Cooper said he often felt like an outsider in Hollywood and became consumed by how other people viewed him. One especially alarming episode involved deliberately smashing his head against a concrete floor at a party, twice, before spending the night at St. Vincent’s Hospital waiting for stitches.
Friends had raised concerns, but Cooper initially resisted them. Eventually, changes in his routine and home life became impossible to dismiss. He has said he feared addiction would prevent him from reaching his potential and could destroy his life.
By the time The Hangover made him a major star, Cooper had already been sober for years. The film’s alcohol-fuelled chaos was fictional, even if the marketing department worked very hard to make it look aspirational.
Why Pitt’s return to drinking is significant
In the Esquire interview published on August 10, Pitt said he remained sober for seven years before deciding to drink again. He now permits himself wine and other alcohol in limited amounts.
“I can have a few,” the 62-year-old said. “But I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it.” He acknowledged becoming overconfident on several occasions and deciding that larger quantities were not safe for him.
The disclosure creates an unresolved tension around the event that preceded his sobriety. Jolie alleged that Pitt was intoxicated and physically and verbally abusive toward her and their children during a private-plane flight on September 14, 2016. Pitt disputed allegations of abuse. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reviewed the incident and filed no charges.
Pitt and Jolie share six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne. Some of the children have stopped using Pitt’s surname publicly. The former couple finalized their divorce settlement in December 2024, though their separate legal fight over the Château Miraval winery remained unresolved.
Pitt also disclosed that he briefly experienced suicidal thoughts while dealing with what he called “family stuff.” He did not provide extensive details. Together, the admission and his return to controlled drinking make his current position less simple than the 2020 awards-stage declaration suggested.
What else connects Pitt and Cooper?
Their relationship does not revolve entirely around addiction and recovery. A source told E! News in 2020 that Pitt and Cooper shared interests in music and art, attended exhibitions together and watched live performances when their schedules allowed.
They have also appeared together at sporting events, including the 2021 U.S. Open. Their football loyalties are less harmonious. Cooper is a prominent Philadelphia Eagles supporter, while Pitt backed the Kansas City Chiefs during a 2024 appearance at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Pitt joked that Cooper was accustomed to losing at the Academy Awards because he supported the Eagles, then added, “Go Chiefs!” It was standard friendly provocation, delivered by two men with enough Oscar nominations to survive it.
Their public interactions remain infrequent, but the available record shows a friendship built on more than shared celebrity status. Cooper received difficult help from Arnett, carried that experience into his own recovery and later became part of Pitt’s effort to stop drinking. Pitt’s latest disclosures do not erase that support. They show that recovery can change shape over time, sometimes in ways that resist a clean, celebratory ending.
