Bradley Cooper Recalls a Director Once Mocked the Fact He Had 7 Oscar Nominations, at a Party
Bradley Cooper is recalling a time when a director implied he wasn't deserving of the number of Oscar nominations he'd received.
The 47-year-old actor chatted with Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes for the June 13 episode of their SmartLess podcast, saying he was at a party four years ago when a director told him, "What world are we living in where you have seven nominations and she's only got three?" referring to Cooper's "dear friend" actress who was with him at the party.
"I was like, 'I f---ing hate this business,' " said the Nightmare Alley actor. "I'm like, 'Bro, why are you such an a--hole? Like, go f--- yourself.' "
Cooper noted during the conversation that he "never forget[s] anything anybody mean has ever said," and brought up another time years earlier when, at the same party, a "hero female" actress mocked his inclusion in the Best Actor category at the 2013 Oscars, which marked his first-ever nomination at the awards show.
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Vivien Killilea/Getty Images Bradley Cooper
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According to Cooper, he was "levitating" at being nominated for his role in Silver Linings Playbook alongside acting legends such as Daniel Day-Lewis and Denzel Washington, when the actress in question implied he didn't deserve to actually take home the win.
"This hero female actress, that I didn't know at all, comes up to me, she goes, 'I saw your movie. You deserve the nom,' " he told Arnett, 52, Bateman, 53, and Hayes, 51.
"Then like 10, 20 minutes later — I'm not kidding — I pass her going to the bathroom and she mouths it: 'The nom.' I remember [thinking], 'What the f--- is this town?' " Cooper said. "Can you imagine saying that to somebody? You've got to be f---ed up to do that."
In addition to the Silver Linings nod, Cooper was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for American Hustle, Best Actor for American Sniper (which he also produced, earning him recognition with the film's Best Picture nomination), Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay for A Star Is Born (and recognition in Best Picture category). Since the encounter with the unnamed director, Cooper went on to nab two more Academy Award nominations: for 2019's Joker and 2021's Nightmare Alley, both of which he co-produced and were up for Best Picture.
Larry Busacca/Getty Bradley Cooper
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During his conversation on SmartLess, Cooper and Arnett also discussed times when they struggled with their emotional and mental health as recovering addicts. They both noted that becoming a dad positively affected each of their journeys to have healthy relationships with themselves.
"Fatherhood is … everything changed," said Cooper, who shares 5-year-old daughter Lea De Seine with ex Irina Shayk. "Every single thing is absolutely shaded by or brought into glorious colors by the fact that I get to be a father to a wonderful human being."
"You have this wonderful thing or breakthrough with a script, or you have a wonderful moment on this set or in an editing room … you have like 40 of those moments every day with your kid that are that level of joy," he added. "That's not spinning it, that's just the truth."
