Paying It Forward

tormented by being famous but not famous enough — and the situation only got worse when his part on Alias was reduced so much that he asked to be written out of the hit ABC show. He confesses that after he was “fired-slash-quit Alias,” he suffered from “zero selfesteem,” which only exacerbated his addictions. It all came to a head following a group dinner with pal Will, 52, whom Bradley was living with at the time. Though the A Star Is Born director recalls he thought he’d been the life of the party, his friend informed him that he was “a real a------” during the evening. “That put me on a path of deciding to change my life,” Bradley says of their tough conversation in July 2004. “It truly was Will Arnett. He is the reason.”

While that was the rock bottom that inspired him to get sober at 29 — ironically, years before his breakout turn in The Hangover — Bradley’s hard-partying ways previously led to plenty of other low moments. On one occasion, “[I] deliberately bashed my head on the concrete floor — like, ‘Hey, look how tough I am!’ And I came up, and blood dripped down,” he’s recalled. “And then I did it again. I spent the night at St. Vincent’s Hospital with a sock of ice, waiting for them to stitch me up.”

His issues pushed many away, but not Will — nor onetime co-star Jennifer, 50. “She was his first friend in Hollywood and stood by him,” says the source. “Jen’s door was always open, and Bradley would stay with her on down days. He did confess a lot to Jen, but she didn’t know exactly how bad things had gotten.” Still, adds the insider, “Bradley says he couldn’t have gotten clean without both Jen’s and Will’s support. They saved his life.”

SILVER LININGS

Indeed, if not for his famous friends, Bradley might not be here today. Now a father to 5-year-old Lea (with ex Irina Shayk), she motivates him even more to lead a healthy life. With parenthood, “everything changed,” he raves. “Every single thing is absolutely shaded by or brought out in glorious colors by the fact that I get to be a father to a wonderful human being. It’s just the absolute greatest thing.”

Finding love again would be the cherry on top. Since splitting from supermodel Irina, 36, in 2019, Bradley — who was previously wed to Jennifer Esposito for four months before she filed for divorce in 2007 — has not been publicly linked to anyone. “A wife is the only thing missing in his life,” says the source. “He’s back on the dating scene and would love to get married one day to someone nice and normal. He’s thinking the second time’s the charm.”

Happily-ever-after hinges on keeping his sobriety, though. “Bradley wants to stay on the straight and narrow, not only for Lea but also for himself,” the source notes of the therapy devotee. “He still goes to Alcoholics Anonymous all these years later. He’d spiraled to a really dark place and refuses to ever go back there again.”

He’s Helped Guide Ben Through Sobriety Bradley and Ben Affleck don’t just have Jennifer Garner in common. The Way Back actor, 49, is an admitted alcoholic who’s been to rehab multiple times. In 2018, exwife Jen drove him there herself for 40 days of treatment following a reported bender. Since then, Ben has said that “very supportive” Bradley’s been integral to his recovery. “I feel a A shoulder to lean on! He Inspired Brad to Finally Kick the Booze Brad Pitt quit marijuana when he had kids. Giving up the bottle? It wasn’t as easy. As his marriage to Angelina Jolie unraveled, the 58-year-old says he drank to “escape” and began “boozing too much.” But by the end of 2016, “I got sober because of [Bradley],” says Brad, who’s opened up about attending Alcoholics Anonymous. “Every day has been happier since.”