Like every other child of the Eighties, Bradley Cooper loved running around the playground pretending to blow up baddies and leap out of a cool black van.
But unlike every other child of that era who just dreamed of being in the A-Team, Bradley has just done it for real.
One of the hottest young stars in Hollywood, the 35-year-old actor has just lived his – and our – childhood fantasies by taking on the iconic role of Templeton “Face” Peck in the blockbuster remake of the show.
Made by acclaimed director Joe Carnahan, the massive movie is one of the most eagerly-awaited releases of the summer season, thanks mainly to the universal popularity of the central cast.
Liam Neeson plays the cigar-chomping leader of the mercenary group, Hannibal, District 9 hero Sharlto Copley is the crazy pilot Howlin’ Mad Murdock and UFC fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson borrows Mr T’s mohican as B.A. Baracus.
And, after his success as the charming lead in last year’s smash The Hangover, Bradley was the perfect choice for the part of wide-smiling and smooth-talking Face.
bradley certainly loved every single minute of living out those playground antics on the big screen.
He said: “I don’t know any guy growing up who didn’t want to learn how to shoot a gun and run around pretending they were doing all of these crazy things.
“It’s pretty great, because we actually learned how to run an M4 machine gun with fully loaded blanks and it was really intense.
“We were conscious of adhering to the integrity of the TV show, for sure.
“But they certainly had budget restrictions – and this is a huge Fox tentpole action movie, so we were able to do things like having a tank fall from an airplane, shooting in the sky and just huge stunt pieces, so it upped the ante.
“One of the best days was when the creator (Stephen J. Cannell) looked at about 20 minutes of assembled footage from our movie and told us that it was exactly how he had always envisioned the show. That was really cool.
“It’s a little grittier and a little bit darker. But it definitely has the same tone in terms of comedy and mood.”
The idea of an A-Team movie has been doing the Hollywood gossip rounds for more than a decade. Stars like Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg and Brendan Fraser were all rumoured to be in line for the Face role, but Bradley’s breakout part as the worst best man in history coincided with the film getting the green light last year and won him the sought-after part.