The only actor who made Bradley Cooper nervous: “I just kind of fell in love with him”
Bradley Cooper might now be able to say he’s rubbed shoulders with some of the most influential actors in cinema history, but once upon a time, he was just an up-and-coming comedy actor who was nervous about starring alongside the greats. Working with actors like Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons and Clint Eastwood, it’s common for younger actors to feel apprehensive in their presence. However, Cooper maintains that there was only one actor who really made him nervous.
A legendary stage and screen actor, Christopher Walken starred alongside Cooper in the 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers. The role came at a time in Cooper’s life when he hadn’t found much success and was frequently considering packing it in. Until then, he was primarily known for his time on the television show Alias. So, to be working with the likes of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn must have already been stress- and excitement-inducing, let alone the enigma that is Walken.
Beginning his career as an extra when he was a child, Walken had, at this point, been working for at least five decades. He’d won an Academy Award for The Deer Hunter, as well as a Bafta, Tony, Golden Globe and many others, starring in the likes of Annie Hall and The Dead Zone, in addition to numerous cameos. He’d had a long, successful career on stage as well.
He was well-known in the industry but had mostly stayed out of Hollywood’s spotlight in terms of his private life. He was, and remains, eccentric and enigmatic. Considering all of this, paired with Walken’s penchant for villainous characters, it’s understandable why someone like Cooper would be terrified at that moment in time.
But while he admitted that Walken was the actor he had been most nervous to meet, especially considering he played his son in Wedding Crashers, he was pleasantly surprised when the time came to actually work with the guy. “I remember the most nervous I’ve ever been was to meet Christopher Walken during Wedding Crashers, but talk about a guy who puts you at ease! I mean, I just kind of fell in love with him,” he told Front Row Features. The guy might have been a critically acclaimed legend at the time, but he had also been happily married for decades and had remained pretty much controversy-free in a world of unsavoury figures.
Cooper maintains that it’s a trend he’s felt among other famous actors he’s worked with: “The same thing [goes] with Robert De Niro. Jeremy Irons follows suit completely, and Liam Neeson.” While this A-list tier of actors is often known for their intense performances and explosive roles, clearly, it doesn’t follow suit in real life. And Cooper has a theory, saying, “All these sorts of icons that I’ve had the honour to work with have all had one thread, which is normalcy.”
Now, over two decades and multiple awards into his career, Cooper has mostly remained free from controversy and bad press, too, so perhaps the ability to work with someone as humble and talented as Christopher Walken paid off in more ways than one.
