Brad Pitt was burnt out when he was married to Jennifer Aniston. The "World War Z" star said that he was "wasting my opportunity" a decade ago, which is about the time when he was still married to the former "Friends" star.

In an apparent dig at his ex-wife, Brad said also said in an interview with Esquire magazine in its June/July issue that he was on the destructive path with drug use until he found happiness with current partner Angelina Jolie.

"For a long time I thought I did too much damage - drug damage. I was a bit of a drifter," he told the magazine. "A guy who felt he grew up in something of a vacuum and wanted to see things, wanted to be inspired. I followed that other thing. I spent years f****** off. But then I got burnt out and felt that I was wasting my opportunity."

Then "about a decade ago," the now 49-year-old multi-award-winning actor made "a conscious change."

"It was an epiphany - a decision not to squander my opportunities. It was a feeling of get up. Because otherwise, what's the point."

Brad, who met Angie on the set of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" in 2004, divorced Jen the next year to be with his co-star. The move was met with controversies, painting Angelina as a husband-stealer, and Jen as the poor victim. However, Brad said he couldn't be happier with how his life has changed.

"I have a handful of close friends and I have my family and I haven't known life to be any happier. I'm making things. I just haven't known life to be any happier."

He also gushed about his big family, which includes three adopted children (11-year-old Maddox, 9-year-old Pax, and 8-year-old Zahara) and three biological ones (6-year-old Shiloh and 4-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne).

"I always thought that if I wanted to do a family, I wanted to do it big. I wanted there to be chaos in the house... there's constant chatter in our house, whether it's giggling or screaming or crying or banging.

"I love it. I love it. I love it. I hate it when they're gone. I hate it. Maybe it's nice to be in a hotel room for a day - 'Oh, nice, I can finally read a paper.' But then, by the next day, I miss that cacophony, all that life."

His full interview with the men's magazine will hit newsstands on May 31.