Brad Pitt has confessed he became a "doughnut" due to heavy cannabis use.

The 'Moneyball' star has revealed his marijuana smoking got out of control in the late 90s because he was trying to escape the pressures of fame.

He told The Hollywood Reporter magazine: "I got really sick of myself at the end of the 1990s. I was hiding out from the celebrity thing, I was smoking way too much dope, I was sitting on the couch and just turning into a doughnut and I really got irritated with myself."

The publication's executive features editor Stephen Galloway revealed the actor credits his drug use to depression.

Galloway said: "He said it's like he had a semester of depression.

"He hasn't had that in this decade, but he definitely wrestled with it in the past."

Last year, the 48-year-old Hollywood star - who was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar this week - even quit smoking regularly cigarettes after being caught puffing by two of his children, daughters Zahara and Shiloh.

Brad and his long-term partner Angelina Jolie also raise four other kids together - Maddox, Pax, and twins Knox and Vivienne.