Bradley Cooper
Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards. In addition, he has been nominated for twelve Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. Cooper appeared on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list three times and on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2015. His films have grossed $13 billion worldwide, and he has been placed in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actors four times.
For other uses, see Bradley Cooper (disambiguation).
Bradley Cooper
- Actor
- film director
- film producer
- screenwriter
1999–present
Zoe Saldaña
(2011–2013)
Irina Shayk
(2015–2019)
1
Cooper began his television and film career in 1999, with a guest role in the television series Sex and the City. In 2000, he enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program at the Actors Studio. Shortly after, he made his film debut in the comedy Wet Hot American Summer (2001) and gained some recognition as Will Tippin in the television series Alias (2001–2006). After his role in the show was demoted, he began to have career doubts; however he quickly gained additional recognition with a supporting part in the comedy film Wedding Crashers (2005). Cooper had his breakthrough in The Hangover (2009), a critically and commercially successful comedy that spawned sequels in 2011 and 2013. His career progressed with starring roles in Limitless (2011) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2012).
Cooper found greater success with the romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook (2012), the black comedy American Hustle (2013), and the war biopic American Sniper (2014), which he also produced. In 2014, he portrayed Joseph Merrick in a Broadway revival of The Elephant Man and began voicing Rocket in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cooper produced, wrote, directed, and starred in the musical romance A Star Is Born (2018). He won a BAFTA Award and two Grammys for his contributions to the film's U.S. Billboard 200 number one soundtrack and its chart-topping lead single "Shallow". He has since produced the thrillers Joker (2019) and Nightmare Alley (2021) and directed the biographical drama Maestro (2023), in which he also starred as Leonard Bernstein.
Cooper was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 2011. He supports several charities that help fight cancer. Cooper was briefly married to actress Jennifer Esposito, and has a daughter from his relationship with model Irina Shayk.
Career
2001–2008: Early roles
Cooper missed his MFA graduation ceremony to film Wet Hot American Summer (2001), an ensemble comedy that marked his cinematic debut. Taking place at a fictional summer camp in 1981, the film had him play Ben, a counselor and the love interest of Michael Ian Black's character.[29] Although the film was critically and commercially unsuccessful, it has since developed a cult following. Cooper reprised the role in the film's prequel Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015), an eight-episode Netflix series.[30]
In the television series Alias (2001–2006), Cooper achieved some success with the role of Will Tippin, a local reporter for a newspaper and the best friend of Jennifer Garner's character, Sydney Bristow.[23] Garner was one of the first people he met in Los Angeles and was, in Cooper's words, "very maternal ... She wanted to take care of me, make sure I was okay all the time."[31] A writer for Complex Networks called his character "arguably the heart of Season 1".[32] As his screen time began to decrease, Cooper grew frustrated. Although he would work only three days, he requested creator J. J. Abrams to write his character off the show.[33] Shortly after his conversation with Abrams, Cooper tore his Achilles tendon while playing basketball. During his recovery, he considered quitting acting permanently, though in 2004, he was cast in Wedding Crashers (2005).[33] During this period, he acted in the 2002 psychological thriller Changing Lanes. The scenes in which he appeared were edited out of the final cut of the film, but are featured on the film's DVD and Blu-ray releases.[34][35] Other roles included in Bending All the Rules (2002),[36] the short-lived TV series Miss Match (2003),[37] the television film I Want to Marry Ryan Banks (2004) and the WB series Jack & Bobby (2004–2005).[38]