The Road Back for Brad

Sources close to Brad Pitt say he's 'in a good headspace' after facing his demons, embracing sobriety (and therapy!) and finding love again

- by JAIME HARKIN

A funny thing happened to Brad Pitt while making his new movie, F1 — the 61-year-old Hollywood star fell in love with acting again. “Man, I’ve been doing this for a while and was wondering: Do I have more stories to tell? Do I have anything to add to this? Is there still any excitement I can find from this?” he said during a recent GQ interview, noting that playing car racing vet Sonny Hayes in the action flick (above, out June 27) and getting to drive modified vehicles on real F1 tracks at 180 mph “reinvigorated the whole thing” for him. Says a source close to Pitt: “It was a really exciting environment for Brad.”

F1 — which cost more than $200 million and took three years to make — marks a return to form for Pitt, who built his career on blockbusters like World War Z and Troy. He has a slew of new projects in the works, including the sequel to 2019's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (for which he won an Oscar) and a film and docuseries about motorcycle racing with Channing Tatum. He's riding high personally, too: In late 2024, after a bitter eight-year battle, he and ex-wife Angelina Jolie finalized their divorce, and he and his girlfriend of over two years, jewelry designer Ines de Ramon, 35, are going strong. “Brad's in a good place,” says the Pitt source.

It took some work to get there. Pitt revealed in 2017 that he'd gotten sober and started therapy. “He’s done a jot of therapy over the years,” says a second Pitt source. Work has been a stabilizing force. (His production company, Plan B, keeps him busy behind the scenes, and he’s also launching a new linen line this month via his God’s True Cashmere luxury brand, which he cofounded with holistic healer Sat Hari). In his