Bradley Cooper stayed in character as Leonard Bernstein while directing ‘Maestro’
Bradley Cooper has revealed that he remained in character as composer Leonard Bernstein while directing the cast and crew of Maestro.
Maestro follows Bernstein’s relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre. Supported by a star-studded cast that included the likes of Carey Mulligan, Maya Hawke and Sarah Silverman, the film saw Cooper take on the task of channelling Bernstein, as well as helming the film behind the scenes.
In a conversation with Spike Lee for Variety, Cooper has now revealed that some elements of his method acting for Maestro extended into the director’s seat. Inspired by Christian Bale’s commitment to his accent behind the scenes of American Hustle, Cooper delivered directorial instructions in Bernstein’s voice.
“American Hustle was the first time I saw an actor stay in the voice of a character,” Cooper recalled to fellow director Lee, “It was Christian Bale. I had heard stories about Daniel Day-Lewis. I couldn’t figure out how someone could do that. Then I realized I was overthinking it.”
“Christian just stayed in the voice, but we talked about his kids. It wasn’t like he saw an iPhone and had a heart attack. Ever since American Hustle, that’s how I’ve done it as an actor,” he continued.
It seems that Cooper has also applied this technique to his behind-the-scenes filmmaking, confirming to Lee that he delivered instructions on set in Bernstein’s voice. “If you ask the crew or cast, Lenny directed the movie,” he concluded.
In a two-and-a-half star review of Maestro, Far Out‘s Thomas Leatham suggested, “It’s hard to understand what Maestro’s intention is, though. To show Bernstein’s brilliance or portray him as a bit of an egotistical asshole that largely neglected his family despite that brilliance? Whatever Cooper’s intention, he seems to have been able to give a surprising insight into the life of one of the most celebrated figures in the music world.”
Revisit the trailer for the film below.
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