Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know that Bradley Cooper: is coming off a big year—a career-altering, mind-blowingly big year. It’s his time. But the 38-year-old Oscar nominee, who’s following an acclaimed turn in The Place Beyond the Pines with The Hangover Part III, knows that what he does next will ultimately define his place in Hollywood. Cooper sat for a candid conversation with Details’ editor-in-chief and opened up about the perils of playing assholes, wanting to be a ninja, and why the 2011 Sexiest Man Alive is living with his mom. Got a problem with that?

DETAILS: You’ve just wrapped up a whirlwind awards season for Silver Linings Playbook. Do any highlights stand out to you?

Bradley Cooper:: The whole thing was an amazing experience. Going to the White House to meet with Joe Biden was definitely memorable. He’s a master. Comes in the room and comes right up to you. To everyone. He doesn’t give you a second to be insecure. He turns your brain right off and makes you feel completely at ease. We screened the movie at Walter Reed the same day. Meeting with patients there. Wow. That was incredible. That was the same week Chris Kyle was murdered by a vet who apparently had PTSD.

DETAILS: You had already optioned the rights to the book Kyle wrote, American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. Did you have a chance to meet him?

Bradley Cooper:: I only talked to him on the phone. And I’ve since corresponded with his wife. The whole thing is just awful. I mean, two young kids.

DETAILS: You’ve said you loved soldiers growing up.

Bradley Cooper:: I was obsessed with soldiers, wanting to be a soldier. Being a kid, I was scared of dying. Didn’t feel like anxiety, I just wanted to get to a state of comprehension about death. I wanted, in a visceral way, to comprehend mortality. I was young, maybe 7 or 8. I would constantly ask my father about God and existence. And then he was simultaneously showing me these movies. Movies like Apocalypse Now and then Platoon. For some reason, those stuck with me. All those characters seemed to know something. And I wanted to know that. I figured the only way to understand life was to have been through something like these soldiers had been through. I became obsessed and started to read all these books about Vietnam. I remember this one book called Guns Up! that blew me away.

DETAILS: Did you ever seriously consider enlisting?

Bradley Cooper:: Yes. So I begged my father to send me to Valley Forge Military Academy. I found the number in the Yellow Pages. He said no. I said, “Dad, I want to go.” And he said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Before that, I thought only ninjas understood the meaning of life and death. And so I begged my father to send me to Japan until I was 21, so I could train to become a ninja.

DETAILS: I have to ask: Did you have a lonely childhood?

Bradley Cooper:: No, but I was sort of isolated. I would definitely have a lot of time alone—but I was always around people. Much like my life now: alone, but around people.

During the filming of Hangover 2 in Thailand, I used to envy Zach [Galifianakis], because he would go on these long walks all the time by himself. I remember thinking, “I want to do that.” I don’t really do that very well . . . like, just go chill by myself. Or go eat dinner by myself. I wanted to just be okay being on my own. And I wasn’t. I don’t know what’s happened, maybe the death of my father or that I’m getting older, but I realize that I enjoy it tremendously now . . . being alone. I can stay alone for days. And be okay. I never thought that would happen. But I love being alone now. I was just alone for seven days in Paris. I needed to decompress after all the running-around we did with the second life that Silver Linings Playbook had. So in Paris, I did nothing. Slept till noon every day. Walked around. I was just by myself, riding my motorcycle at two in the morning when the city was completely empty.

DETAILS: So you somehow managed to find a sense of calm in the middle of what was probably the busiest year of your life?

Bradley Cooper:: I exhale a lot. I was thinking about this yesterday. My mind is pretty clear. My mind has been pretty clear for a long time. My father’s death had this impact on me. It’s like I was saying about when I wanted to be a soldier. I think my father’s death addressed some of the fears or quandaries I had as a child about mortality. It was his parting gift to me. Watching this man—my father—leave his body and go. Watching him die. All of a sudden I was like, “Oh, right, I’m going to die too.” Here it is. It’s not in a book. It’s not in a movie. It’s not in a story that was told to me. It’s not driving by an accident or watching it on TV. It’s someone you love dying in front of you. I was like, “Okay. This is death. And this is going to happen to me one day.” There was a huge freedom that came with that. So now I just don’t sweat the shit. The small stuff. My mind is just less busy now. There were so many times when I would sweat the small stuff. All through my life. High school. College. As an actor. My dad’s death allowed me to be more at ease with being myself. And if someone’s not going to like me, that’s just the way it is. I used to think, “Oh, my God. I don’t want to make anyone not like me. I don’t want to ruffle any feathers.” Now it’s like, “I’m just going to be myself and trust that.” And I’m enjoying life more.

DETAILS: Did your dad’s death make you more religious?

Bradley Cooper:: I grew up Roman Catholic. I was baptized. I always loved the pageantry of it. A lot of it had to do with loving my father and looking at him wear his tweed blazer to Mass. I loved the way he prayed, so I would pray like he would. Not for any other reason than I wanted to be like my father—I wanted to be like Charlie Cooper. But in so doing, through the ritual of it, I started to have faith in God. Am I a spiritual person today? Yes. I don’t know how I could not be. It’s like saying, “Do you breathe?”

DETAILS: Have you given any thought to being a dad yourself?

Bradley Cooper:: Of course I have. I really hope I have that experience in my life. I saw how much joy fatherhood gave my own dad. So I hope it’s part of my journey. You go through stages in your life, and fatherhood seems like a natural stage.

DETAILS: It’s probably not something you’re planning right now, particularly since your mother is living with you at the moment. How’s that working out, by the way?

Bradley Cooper:: The best way I can answer that is to say we’re surviving. Both of us. Let’s face it: It’s probably not easy for her, by the way, to be living with her son. It’s life. And right now, two years after my father’s death, this is where we are. My family is very close, and my dad dying was brutal for all of us. It was a schism, and its aftershock has not stopped. And we need each other. So here we are. But don’t get me wrong. It’s not without complications. It’s not like I live in a compound and she’s in the guesthouse. No. She’s in the next room. But here’s the thing: She’s a cool chick. We can hang, and she can roll with the punches. If that wasn’t the case, there’s no way.

DETAILS: Does being nominated for an Oscar change you at all?

Bradley Cooper:: Not so much. That whole experience was fun and amazing, but I try not to get too carried away with that stuff. And maybe if you start feeling a little too big for your britches, hop on the Internet and take a look at some message boards for five seconds. It’s not something I do often, but if you do, it’ll take you right back down. Oh, my God. First of all, let’s be honest: It’s incredibly narcissistic to do that. And masochistic. You want to feel shitty about yourself? Boom—it’s easy. To me, this business is the ultimate humbling experience. You’re constantly dealing with rejection. My journey has not been people kissing my ass.

DETAILS: Still, it must have been pretty cool to be up for Best Actor alongside guys like Denzel Washington and Daniel Day-Lewis?

Bradley Cooper:: That was surreal. Of course I knew I wasn’t going to win. But something pretty funny happens on the actual night. Even though I knew there was no chance I’d win, the millisecond in between when they open the envelope and they say the name, your brain goes, “Wait a minute. It could happen. It’s possible. A one-in-five chance, right?” And that’s the moment when they have your face on camera. And all of a sudden, you’re dealing with the fact that you didn’t get something that you knew you weren’t going to get in the first place. And that reaction shot—I mean, that camera is right there in your face.

DETAILS: The Oscar nod certainly goes a long way to undoing the perception that you were just the guy from Wedding Crashers and the Hangover movies. Now you’re at a place where you can have a searing drama like The Place Beyond the Pines and The Hangover Part III in theaters at the same time. But did you ever worry about being pigeonholed?

Bradley Cooper:: I never thought about it until I got nominated and then so many people were like, “What the fuck?” I had no idea how many people didn’t think I was really an actor. That surprised me. To me, I look at that guy in The Hangover, and that’s a full character that I worked on with the director to fit the story. Just like Sack Lodge in Wedding Crashers. So I’m creating characters that I think are full and rich, and everyone thought I was that guy. People must have thought I was that dude—this cocky asshole of a guy. But that’s what people had to go on.

I’m somebody who likes to know everything. Acting and moviemaking are an art form, sure, but it’s also my business. This is how I make my living. I want and need to know all the bad shit. So I surround myself with people who are honest with me.

DETAILS: But consider the business you’re in. What about the adage that all agents are liars by nature?

Bradley Cooper:: I’ve been working with my agent for a while, and it took some time, but we have a really honest relationship. I don’t need to be protected. I need to be told the real. He doesn’t have to bullshit me. He can call me after I meet with a director and say, “He hated you. Says you can’t act.” Or I’ll try to get a meeting with a director, and he’ll be like, “He’s not a fan. He doesn’t even want to see you.” “Oh, okay.” It stings, but it doesn’t debilitate me. I also know that people change their opinions. Like I do.

Source – Details

In 2004, ABC Family premiered the TV movie I Want to Marry Ryan Banks. It stars a post-Alias Bradley Cooper as a talent manager who convinces his friend/falling star client Ryan Banks (Jason Priestley) to do a Bachelor-type reality show to rehab his image. The twist: The sane, likable contestant Ryan is supposed to choose, Charlie (Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Emma Caulfield), falls for Cooper’s character instead.

If you’ve seen the movie — penned by Chad Hodge, the future creator of NBC’s The Playboy Club who is currently developing the Twin Peaks-esque limited series Wayward Pines with M. Night Shyamalan for Fox — odds are you’ll be thrilled to hear it’s debuting on Hallmark this Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET. And after reminiscing with Hodge, we can confirm that you are not alone.

Why Bradley Cooper? It was obviously an excellent choice.
I knew that he was gonna be a big movie star. I mean, it was sort of obvious. He was so great in Alias. His star was on the rise. He was my first choice for this. It was like, “Can we get Bradley Cooper?” I remember having such a good time with him on the set. He’s the nicest guy in the world. If you ever meet him, there’s this character that he does: He’s a devil trying to have a normal date with a girl, but he can’t hide the fact that there are horns popping out of his head. It’s so ridiculous and one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

Source – Entertainment Weekly

A-Team costars Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson have teamed up again. In a legal way, that is.

The Hollywood heavyweights have joined forces to sue for what they say is an unauthorized use of their photos in ad campaigns.

Cooper and Neeson filed their lawsuit against Vutec Corporations, a manufacturer of video projection screen technology and accessories, and First Impressions Theme Theaters in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In the complaint obtained by E! News, the actors are suing for violating their right of privacy, right of publicity, trademark infringement and negligence.

According to the papers, Cooper and Neeson say their likenesses are being used without their permission to sell commercial products. They say the companies have used their photos in full-page ads, on websites, as well as in their advertising and promotional materials.

The costars are asking for a permanent injunction to stop the companies from using their photos. The actors are also asking for damages and attorney fees.

Source – E! Online

Following some major shake-ups last month, Bradley Cooper has joined the cast of Gavin O’Connor’s Jane Got a Gun, Deadline reports. He replaces the recently-departed Jude Law as the film’s chief antagonist.

Also starring Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton and Rodrigo Santoro, Jane Got a Gun centers on a woman who must ask an ex-lover for help in order to save her outlaw husband from a gang who are out to kill him.

Cooper was recently nominated for an Academy Award for his role in David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook. He can soon be seen reprising his role as Phil in Todd Phillips’ The Hangover Part III.

Portman is also producing alongside Scott Steindorff.

Source – Coming Soon

It looks like Derek Cianfrance’s “The Place Beyond the Pines” is a record indie hit this weekend. Total ticket sales for showings in just 4 theatres is around $300,000. Of course, having Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper in one movie, not to mention beautiful, talented Eva Mendes (who also dates Gosling) and the fearsome but beloved Ray Liotta in an indie film made for nothing, is kind of outrageous.

But the budget was minimal as Cianfrance’s script is a literary triptych. The movie unfolds in three parts; Gosling and Cooper are never in it together, really, except for a brief sequence. The third part is about their sons, one of whom, played by Dane DeHaan, is the new Leonardo DiCaprio. If the movie holds as it expands at the box office it could be the first Oscar nominee of 2014. I am serious. “Pines” is a deeply wondrous film that when it was first shown in Toronto last fall caused a sensation. Gosling and Cooper each do exceptional work. They have turned into old fashioned movie stars who are also very good actors. Or vice versa. And they are real leading men, something we haven’t had in a long time.

The premiere on Thursday night was held at the dreadfully cold Landmark Sunshine Theater, a foreboding pit. But the party was at the ultra hip Bowery Hotel. You go to a lot of these things and the cast doesn’t seem too interested in each other. But the “Pines” gang seems pretty cohesive. Gosling brought his mom, Donna, who’s a doll. She told me she’s just gotten her teaching degree and is launching a new career.

Ryan is very excited but nervous about shooting his first feature as a director. He’s directing Mendes, he said. “Or she’s directing me,” he laughed. No one will talk about the plot of this movie. Not because it’s a secret. “But you know, it can change a lot,” Gosling told me.

Cooper had an unceasing crowd of young women piling up around him. We attempted to talk, but we were constantly interrupted by young women who simply walked right up, interrupting without thinking once, and saying “Can we take a picture?” All the main actors had personal bodyguards who were very polite.

Some of the other guests included Patricia Clarkson, who had a long talk with Gosling, and Oliver Platt, who told me he’s getting into producing now. “It turns out I’m very good at calling people up and asking them to do things,” he said.

Funniest line of the night was Cianfrance, introducing Ray Liotta at the Sunshine: “When I was a kid, I didn’t have posters of Playboy playmates on my walls. I had pictures of Ray Liotta.”

By the way: Cianfrance’s lovely wife, Shannon Plumb, has directed her first film. It’s called “Towheads,” and it features the couple’s two young sons. “Towheads” was shown at MoMA’s “New Directors” series this weekend and got rave reviews.

Source – Showbiz 411

David O Russell’s untitled movie centered on the Abscam sting operation has received a release date.

The film, which reunites Silver Linings Playbook castmates Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper is set to be released on Christmas Day.

The feature – which still has no title at this stage – has been given a wide release by Sony.

Prior to the movie’s December 25 general release in the US, the drama will open in selected cinemas in a limited release on December 13.

Jeremy Renner (The Avengers), Christian Bale (The Dark Knight Rises) and Louis CK (Down to Earth) are also part of the cast.

O Russell’s latest project was formerly titled American Bulls**t.

A UK release date for the movie has yet to be announced.

Source – Digital Spy

The Hangover star, who dated Ren©e Zellweger for two years until 2011, reveals that falling in with a bad crowd and being caught under-age drinking when he was 15 put the brakes on his love life.

“It meant I couldn’t get my driving licence until I was 17 – talk about a buzzkill with the ladies,” the 38-year-old actor tells GQ magazine.

“Imagine all your buddies are driving around, picking up their women and there’s little old me having to wait for a lift from my mom. Or saying to some girl, ‘Hey, you want to get a train ride? It’s romantic!”’

The Silver Linings Playbook actor had a long battle with alcohol, finally giving up drinking aged 29.

“There was always this duality with me. On one hand my father use to call me Two Shoes because I was always the goodie-two-shoes. Then puberty hit and I fell in with a bad crowd and I seemed to find a sense of self-worth by hanging out with these older kids and doing whatever they thought was cool.”

Source – Express

Bradley Cooper didn’t think he was ”The Guy” for ‘The Hangover’.

The heartthrob actor was convinced the he wouldn’t make the final cut for the comedy film when he first went to audition for director Todd Phillips as he believed hiring unknowns for the project was too risky at the time.

He explained: ”I think my agent had to strong-arm Todd into seeing me that day. Todd and I hit it off in the room, but I could see that I wasn’t ‘The Guy’. You know? They had very specific actors who they wanted to do the movie with – those actors weren’t uninterested.

”And they were unknowns. And when a studio is giving you $15m to make a movie and you want to use three unknowns? No way. So then it just went away. I forgot about it.

”I went up to Williamstown to do a play, ‘The Understudy’, thinking at least it would help fulfill me creatively, but I had no real idea where my next pay cheque was coming from. Then I got this email from Todd. It was 2pm and we were just doing the matinee performance and then ‘ping’ … ‘Come on b****es.’ ”

Although Bradley’s high-profile friends were confused as to why he took on the part, the 38-year-old star was keen to participate and feels ”honoured” have become successful in the showbiz industry.

He added: ”I rang him and was like, ‘Todd what are you talking about?’ He said, ‘It’s on. ‘The Hangover’. We’re going to do it.’

”Back then, I had a couple of high-profile actor friends who were pretty successful and they were saying, ‘Why are you doing that movie called ‘The Hangover’? I read the script and passed.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, OK. Well, I’m doing it.’

”Actors are a crazy breed. I feel honoured to be a part of this profession, but I also feel a lot of gratitude that I am not a typical actor. Not at all.”

Source – Contact Music

The nominations were announced a few days ago for the 2013 MTV Movie Awards and Bradley scored 4 nominations, as well as Silver Linings Playbook and his co-star Jennifer Lawrence. You can check out the categories below and see his competition.

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
Ben Affleck — “Argo”
Bradley Cooper — “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis — “Lincoln”
Jamie Foxx — “Django Unchained”
Channing Tatum — “Magic Mike”

BEST ON-SCREEN DUO
Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson — “Django Unchained”
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence — “Silver Linings Playbook”
Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane as Ted — “Ted”
Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo — “The Avengers”
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis — “The Campaign”

BEST KISS
Kerry Washington and Jamie Foxx — “Django Unchained”
Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman — “Moonrise Kingdom”
Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper — “Silver Linings Playbook”
Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg — “Ted”
Emma Watson and Logan Lerman — “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

BEST MUSICAL MOMENT
Anne Hathaway — “Les Misérables”
Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash and Adam Rodriguez — “Magic Mike”
Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean and Hana Mae Lee — “Pitch Perfect”
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence — “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller — “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

MOVIE OF THE YEAR
“Django Unchained”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Ted”
“The Avengers”
“The Dark Knight Rises”

Bradley Cooper may be one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors, but it wasn’t always that way as the star reveals he had to overcome serious nerves to be the confident person he is today.

Speaking to GQ, Bradley said: ‘I used to be the kid that got the shakes if I had to talk in public; now, I just don’t get nervous about stuff. I can’t control everything.’

In the frank interview the A-lister spoke openly about his father’s death and how much it changed his perspective, adding: ‘My father gave me two gifts – having me and dying with me. I watched my father die and I realised that is the way we are all going to die.

‘For me, it was a switch from knowing something intellectually to knowing it by tangibly experiencing it. It rewired my neurological system. It almost did the opposite of motivating me. It was about keeping the main thing the main thing.’

While he failed to elaborate on what the ‘main thing’ is for him, he actually took a very positive outlook on the death of his father, even saying that he believes he was ‘privileged to experience’ the end of life.

Bradley Cooper emphasised his new outlook on life saying: ‘You know William Blake’s Songs Of Innocence? Well, right there, in that moment, the innocence was gone. Done. Never to return. The beauty is that I just don’t sweat s*** any more.’

Source – Marie Claire