Brad Pitt Says He Was in ‘The Most Unhealthy Time’ of His Life, Until David Fincher ‘Reinvigorated’ His Love of Acting With ‘Se7en’: ‘I Just Got the Jones Back’

Brad Pitt could’ve lost his way in the Hollywood machine if it wasn’t for the work of David Fincher.

During a recent appearance on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, Pitt said that “the most unhealthy time” in his life came in the summer of 1994 after a string of negative experiences working on blockbusters. Confused about what to do next in his booming yet unfulfilling career, Pitt explained he needed some time to “check out” from Hollywood.

“I would wake up, I would get a bong load, I would have four Coca-Colas on ice, no food,” Pitt said. “This particular summer, I watched the O.J. trial, and I was just trying to figure out, ‘What do I do next? What do I do next?’”

His answer came in the form of the “Se7en” script, which was sent to him by his manager. Although it didn’t immediately capture Pitt, he was totally on board after reading it through and meeting with Fincher.

“My dear friend and manager and, basically my sister now, Cynthia, sends over,” Pitt recalled. “She says, ‘You’ve got to read this.’ I read the first seven pages, I call her up, I go, ‘Are you kidding me? The cliché old cop wants out, the young cop comes in and he’s looking at his high school football trophies?’ She goes, ‘Just finish it.’ Then I go meet with Finch, and he was just talking about films like I’d never heard anyone speak about film. I just got the jones back. Finding that thing kind of… it just reinvigorated what I wanted out of this thing.”

Released in 1995, “Se7en” became one of the most iconic films in Fincher’s storied filmography. Following two cops on the hunt for a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his reasons to kill, the film also stars Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey.