Elliott Gould couldn't ''be [himself]'' while married to Barbra Streisand.

The 'M*A*S*H*' actor divorced the 'Funny Girl' star - the mother of his son Jason - in 1971, two years after they separated, and he admitted he needed to break from from their relationship in order to feel less restricted.

He said: ''I couldn't play the part. I had to be able to find myself, to be able to be myself. I couldn't let myself live in a mould.''

The former couple are still friends and Barbra often calls her ex-husband to ask about his memories of their time together as she's writing her autobiography.

Elliott said: ''And I don't spin. It's so precious to me, that it has to be absolutely right.''

Following his nine-year marriage to Barbra, the 81-year-old actor went on to marry Jennifer Bogart - with whom he has Molly and Samuel - and though they have divorced twice and no longer live together, he'll always regard her as his wife.

He told the Guardian newspaper: ''Jenny married me three times. [I] will be married to Jenny for ever - until she can do better.''

The former 'Friends' actor has been a compulsive gambler at times over the years but when spending time in casinos while shooting 'Ocean's Eleven', he realised he'd put the habit behind him.

He explained: ''As much as I love to win, I hate losing more, and there's nothing I need that I can win.''

And while Elliott has used marijuana in the past, he doesn't smoke it any more.

He said: ''Of course I smoked marijuana. I don't do that now, because I'm centred and balanced and I don't want to alter that.''

But he did admit to having experimented with ''mind-expanding drugs'' such as mescaline, psilocybin and acid.

He said: ''I had some experience with that and did some work behind it.''