Bradley Cooper’s relentless obsession with winning an Oscar
Winning an Academy Award is arguably the pinnacle of any actor or filmmaker’s career, representing recognition from the most prestigious ceremony on the calendar and a significant indicator of reaching the top of the profession. For Bradley Cooper, it appears to be a primary obsession, to the extent that it is almost beginning to shape Hollywood’s perception of him.
The actor may have made his on-screen debut in a 1999 episode of Sex and the City before bowing on the big screen with Wet Hot American Summer two years later. However, it wasn’t until The Hangover that he became a household name and in-demand superstar. From there, he evolved into an acclaimed dramatic powerhouse before reinventing himself yet again as a directorial force to be reckoned with, but it’s beginning to feel as though he’s been consumed by an unstoppable desire to win an Oscar.
Unfortunately, Cooper is currently zero-for-12 in that regard, having been nominated four times for ‘Best Actor’, once for ‘Best Supporting Actor’, and five times for ‘Best Picture’ as a producer of American Sniper, A Star Is Born, Joker, Nightmare Alley, and Maestro. In addition, he earned a pair of nods for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ for co-writing his directorial debut and his most recent feature.
The bad news is that while his latest film, Maestro, has secured him further Oscar nominations in the ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’, and ‘Best Original Screenplay’ categories, he isn’t considered a serious contender for any of them. As a result, that would push him closer and closer to an unwanted distinction.
Sound engineer Greg P. Russell holds the record for most fruitless Oscar nominations with 16, while composer Alex North, art director Roland Anderson, and composer Thomas Newman are just behind on 15. At the bare minimum, Cooper is likely to still be on 12 by the time this year’s edition draws to a close unless there’s a major upset, with time very much on the 49-year-old’s side to eventually creep up on Russell and claim the unwanted title for himself.
Cooper revealed on the SmartLess podcast that when a filmmaker mocked him for having seven Oscar nominations under his belt when another unnamed performer only had three, his response was to tell that director to “go fuck yourself”.
Later, during an interview with Variety in which he reflected on the intense levels of immersion required for Maestro, he compared it to Poor Things star Emma Stone’s experience in saying, “This wasn’t like you got a call, and in six months you’re going to do it”, reiterating how “this had to have taken years”. In some corners, this was interpreted as a thinly veiled shot at Cillian Murphy, who didn’t only – and entirely coincidentally – spend six months preparing for Oppenheimer but is also considered the front-runner for the ‘Best Actor’ trophy Cooper so clearly covets.
When Cooper told Howard Stern that he’d trade multiple Oscar wins to see the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl, the host instantly replied with a pointed, “You’re lying”. One of them is being entirely accurate, but based on Cooper’s recent trajectory, it’s a lot easier to take Stern at his word.
After all, Maestro is the sort of film that feels precision-engineered for the express purpose of winning awards. Co-written, produced, directed by, and starring Cooper in a years-long passion project that saw him go full method, the story spans decades to allow the use of prosthetics. It features rousing scenes tailored to showcasing its creator’s dedication and commitment, all wrapped up in the trappings of a biopic retracing the steps taken by somebody regarded as one of the best ever in their chosen line of work.
Thanks to Maestro‘s ‘Best Picture’ nomination, Cooper has played just three leading roles in the space of nine years, all of which ended up on the shortlist. He’ll have produced all three, as well as co-writing and directing two. The man has dedicated his entire livelihood to winning, but unless there are some serious shock winners this year, and he’s one of them, then he’s going to leave empty-handed yet again.
Cooper once said to Vanity Fair, “I don’t want to win an Oscar”, but that came after his first nomination, with 11 more following in its wake. He’s been unsuccessful a further eight times since then despite trying his hardest to appeal directly to the Academy’s sensibilities even before this year’s edition, which only makes it that little bit harder to believe every time he gets shunned.
Everyone’s been in the situation of doing something they’re good at only to fail hard at it when they realise somebody’s watching. Cooper is an excellent actor and a hugely talented filmmaker, but maybe he’d be in with a much better chance of finally snagging that elusive Oscar if he didn’t make it so obvious that he was trying so hard to win.
