The performance Bradley Cooper called “fucking unbelievable”
Over the course of his career, Bradley Cooper has put in some incredible performances. His latest role in Maestro has him vying for an Oscar, while his previous credits in A Star Is Born, American Hustle or Silver Linings Playbook proved him to be a dynamic and versatile performer. His dedication to picking different roles was perhaps something he picked up from one of his idols, who gave Cooper of his favourite performances in cinematic history.
Cooper’s career is a classic case of someone desperate to climb the ladder from the top. At the start, he seemed cursed to only play the funny romantic lead in a series of successful enough rom-coms. His early filmography reads like a standard suburban family DVD collection as he starred in Sex and the City, Wedding Crashers and Failure To Launch.
But that was never enough. Only when the actor got a little gritty, or maybe more grotty, did he burst his career open to a wider scope. His role as Phil in The Hangover started carving away at the typical ‘hot guy’ roles he’d been cast for before and revealed a more versatile actor underneath.
One actor that he looked up to had a similar career arc. When asked to choose his favourite films, Cooper highlighted one of Nick Nolte’s performances. He selected ‘Life Lessons’, one section of New York Stories, an anthology by Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen and Francis Ford Coppola. ‘Life Lessons’ is directed by Scorsese.
“Nolte plays Lionel Dobie, this Jackson Pollack-like artist. I love the subject matter of Life Lessons; it’s just great,” Cooper explains of his favourite film. “Scorsese completely captures the obsession with women, visually and in the storyline.”
But the real reason for his love of the film all comes down to Nolte. Similar to Cooper, Nolte got started in more comedic or romantic roles. For the first years of his career, Nolte wasn’t taken too seriously, as his projects and performances weren’t much more than light entertainment. But to Cooper, it was New York Stories that revealed him to be a star to note.
“Nick Nolte is never better — his performance is just fucking unbelievable,” Cooper said. Paired with Scorsese’s style, which he describes here as “an effortless exercise in his talent,” New York Stories stands out to the actor as something truly special.
In the film, Nolte’s character is more emotional and dramatic than many of the projects that had come before. Playing a tortured artist who is obsessed with his studio assistant gave him a chance to prove his power at playing nuanced and more introspective roles rather than funny guys or action figures.
Just as how Cooper’s own career now combines all corners of comedy, romance, drama and action, perhaps Nolte was somewhat of a blueprint as seeing him tackle emotional drama with just as much talent as any other genre in New York Stories.
