‘Silver Linings Playbook’ and the role that saved Bradley Cooper’s career
It took a while for Bradley Cooper to be taken seriously as an actor, mostly because he broke through in the Hangover movies, and he’s far, far too good-looking.
The second one shouldn’t really have been a hindrance, but there was definitely an ‘eye candy’ element to Cooper that he had to fight a bit to overcome. Once he did though, he made the most of it and then some with 12 Academy Award nominations, one win, and six Golden Globe shouts, again with one win. He showed that his absolute dedication to cinema from a young age had won out with a succession of movies that did well with both critics and audiences alike.
But despite appearing in a big hit comedy back in 2005 with Owen Wilson’s Wedding Crashers, he very nearly packed it all in thanks to a crisis of confidence and the challenge of working on stage rather than in front of the camera.
In March, a year after his suited jock had graced the film, he decided to step out of his comfort zone and join his former Wet Hot American Summer co-star Paul Rudd in a Broadway production of Three Days of Rain, a play by Richard Greenberg about the complex relationship between a set of siblings as they pick over the will left by their father, uncovering secrets.
Pretty Woman star Julia Roberts also featured in the play, the preparation for which Cooper described as: “The hardest thing I’ve ever been through, by far”. So difficult was it, in fact, that the actor considered the possibility of quitting had the production not been a success, adding, “I remember thinking, ‘If this doesn’t work, maybe I’m not right for this business’”.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened, with poor reviews leading to a swift closing a couple of months afterwards. But it wasn’t enough to dull Cooper’s ambitions completely. Many people don’t realise quite how prestigious his background in acting and filmmaking was. He was hand-picked by the head of the Actors’ Studio to be part of a masterclass post-graduate course, training with world-class coaches and then famously addressing Robert De Niro and Sean Penn in live sessions.
Once his break came in 2009 with the global success of The Hangover franchise, Cooper was thrust into the limelight, taking on roles in films like the romantic comedy Valentine’s Day (again with Julia Roberts), a reboot of The A-Team and Limitless, about a man who swallows a pill and can do pretty much anything (other than get good reviews for that film).
The game-changer came a year later, though, with Silver Linings Playbook, the comedy drama that matched him up with Jennifer Lawrence and earned eight Academy Award nominations, winning ‘Best Actress’. Cooper earned huge plaudits for his role as Patrizio ‘Pat’ Solitano Jr, in the story of a man with bipolar disorder who has to live with his parents following a lengthy detainment at a psychiatric hospital.
He built on the success with another hit in the FBI drama American Hustle with Amy Adams and Christian Bale before using his voice to cash in on another enormous payday by becoming Rocket Raccoon in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy series. Another pivotal moment came in 2018 when Cooper demonstrated directorial chops alongside leading man energy opposite Lady Gaga with an adaptation of A Star is Born. It brought in almost half a billion dollars at the box office, earning eight Oscar nominations and a golden statue for Gaga.
Finally, in 2023, Cooper was able to direct a project that had become a true labour of love. Maestro was the story of American composer Leonard Bernstein, and as with A Star is Born, Cooper spent years preparing in order to be as convincing as possible in the leading role of the conductor, and again the film was a success, earning seven Oscar nominations.
This year, Cooper is gunning for Matt Damon’s cameo records, appearing in the James Gunn Superman reboot, and has co-written and directed a new film about stand-up comedy with Will Arnett called Is This Thing On.
