The iconic actor Bradley Cooper called “fucking unbelievable”
Throughout his highly successful career, Bradley Cooper has pushed himself to take on different kinds of challenges in diverse projects. From incredibly popular comedies such as The Hangover franchise to serious dramatic work in A Star Is Born, Cooper has proven that he has the range to tackle a wide variety of roles. That’s exactly why he has garnered some of the most prestigious accolades in the field, including multiple Oscar nominations.
In recent years, Cooper has forged ahead with demanding projects in order to take his acting to the next level. 2021 was a special year for the actor because he appeared in two of the most prominent releases of the year – Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza and Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley. He ended up earning critical acclaim for his work in both projects, especially the latter, which was cited by fans as his most vulnerable on-screen performance.
Cooper’s approach to acting and his other cinematic sensibilities are undoubtedly shaped by his own influences. During a conversation with Rotten Tomatoes, the actor opened up about the films that had a huge impact on his own journey in the world of cinema. While talking about timeless masterpieces such as Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner, Cooper noted the unparalleled artistry of acting legends like Jimmy Stewart.
However, the acting performance that actually blew Cooper’s mind was Nick Nolte’s fantastic work in the anthology film New York Stories. In Martin Scorsese’s segment titled Life Lessons, Nolte starred as Lionel Dobie – a revered artist who tries to confront a severe creative block. During this psychologically damaging period, Dobie tries to come to terms with a lot of difficult experiences while processing complex feelings like anger and jealousy.
When asked about Martin Scorsese’s contribution to the anthology, Cooper elaborated: “It’s part of New York Stories with Nick Nolte and Rosanna Arquette. Nolte plays Lionel Dobie, this Jackson Pollack-like artist. I love the subject matter of Life Lessons, it’s just great. Scorsese completely captures the obsession with women visually and in the storyline. And Nick Nolte is never better — his performance is just fucking unbelievable.”
The actor also explained Scorsese’s brilliant approach to the narrative style of the segment. He added: “He’s on top of his game stylistically, Scorsese, melding heavy style with story without it ever feeling like you’re just watching a director, you know, show off. I never felt that. I’d be curious to see what he thinks of that movie or how much time he spent doing it, but to me, it just felt like kind of an effortless exercise in his talent.”
