Bradley Cooper’s film career began with a cameo in the television series Sex and the City. No one then recognized in him the future repeated nominee for an Oscar. He gained wide popularity only after 10 years, when the box-office comedy "The Hangover Party" was released. In it, Cooper played the role of the eccentric and carefree womanizer Phil.
Children and teenagers
Bradley Cooper was born on January 5, 1975 in the most populous city of the state of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia. He was the second child in a multinational family of Charlie and Gloria. Bradley has an older sister, Holly. His father is Irish and his mother is Italian. The first served as a stockbroker at a major US bank, Merrill Lynch. Mother worked all her life on television.
There were almost no relatives on the part of the father. The early years of Bradley were surrounded by Italian relatives. Despite the mixing of blood, in childhood, he was outwardly a typical Irishman: a curly blond with blue eyes and light eyebrows. For this reason, Bradley felt at ease among the sultry Italian relatives. Due to his long curly hair and pretty features, up to ten years, many took him for a girl. This eventually led to complexes. In an interview, Cooper recalled that in childhood he was lonely, secretive and often imitated sociability with complete introversion.
The future actor was brought up in strict Catholic traditions. Bradley regularly attended Sunday services with his parents, which left an imprint on his personality. Cooper himself later recalled that prayer became an integral part of his life.
When Bradley was five years old, he was diagnosed with a cholesteatoma. This is one of the complex pathologies of the middle ear that could lead to complete hearing loss. Cooper underwent several operations to avoid such a complication. The disease has receded, but now Bradley can only swim with earplugs in his ears.
The craving for cinema appeared at Cooper very early. His father was a noble movie fan. Across the street from the house of the future actor was a small cinema, where he often visited with his father. At six, Bradley decided to become an actor. This dream came to him after watching the movie "Elephant Man" by David Lynch. The game of John Hurt greatly impressed the six-year-old Cooper.
Bradley was a difficult teenager. According to him, at a transitional age, he turned the life of his parents into hell. So, at the age of 15 he was arrested for drinking alcohol.
Soon, Cooper took up his mind and entered the Germantown Academy. This private school in Fort Washington, a suburb of Philadelphia, is known for its rigorous discipline. Meanwhile, he continues to dream about an acting career. However, after graduating from school, Bradley decided to get a “serious education”, becoming a student at Villanova University, the oldest Catholic university in Pennsylvania.
A year later, Cooper moved to Washington and transferred to another Catholic private university - Georgetown, where he began to study English and literature. After graduation, he went to New York. There he successfully defended his dissertation on Nabokov’s novel “Lolita and received a degree.
Only after that, Cooper decided to fulfill his childhood dream. In New York, he entered an acting studio. To do this, I had to take a loan for training in the amount of 70 thousand dollars. Cooper himself later admitted that it was a crazy act, but at that time he could not do otherwise. To give credit, Cooper worked at night as a doorman at the Morgans Hotel. As a graduation work, Bradley chose the role of that same elephant man.
Career
The path to acting fame for Bradley was thorny. For a long time, the directors did not even look in his direction, and the agents bypassed. Like many Hollywood stars, Cooper began with episodic roles in popular TV shows. So, at the very beginning of his film career, he appeared in such projects as:
- "Sex and the City";
- "Street";
- "Law and order";
- The Spy.
He has a special relationship with the latest series. He considers Spy to be his main multi-part project. In it, he played the role of Will Tippin. Participation in the series allowed him to fully repay the loan that he took to study at an acting school.
In parallel, he tried himself on television. Cooper hosted the science show Globe Trekker on Discovery. He also acted as the creator of Extreme Treks in a Wild World.
Cooper considers his first significant film work to be the role of the heroine's fiancé Rachel McAdams in the comedy Uninvited Guests. The film was released in 2005. Thanks to him, the directors were able to appreciate the comedic talent of Bradley. He began to be offered more often roles in films. However, real fame came to him after four years. In 2009, he starred in several successful films, including:
- “To promise is not to marry”;
- "New York, I love you";
- "Hangover";
- "Case number 39."
In 2012, Cooper was first nominated for an Oscar for his role in the movie My Boyfriend is Crazy. A year later, he was again among the applicants for the golden statuette. A strict jury noted his role in the film "American Scam."
In 2014, Clint Eastwood’s historical drama American Sniper was released, where Bradley not only played a major role, but also acted as a producer. He was awarded two Oscar nominations: as the best actor and as one of the producers.
In 2018, Cooper's directorial debut took place. He directed the musical The Star Is Born, which tells the story of a young singer, Ellie. In his first film for the main role, he invited Lady Gaga. The directorial debut was very successful. The film is nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar.
