Bradley Cooper On Being A Better Actor Now

Bradley Cooper on deal breakers, his admiration for Robert De Niro, the biggest change in his career, becoming a director and working with Lady Gaga in his latest movie a star is born.

- Fabian Waintal

Will Bradley Cooper be fourth-time lucky in his quest for an Oscar? Going by early predictions, his hugely acclaimed version of A Star Is Born presents him the best chance yet, after being left out in the cold three years running not long ago for Silver Linings Playbook (2012), American Hustle (2013), and American Sniper (2014). Pundits are even speculating that he might walk away with the coveted Best Director award for the film, which has since been a worldwide hit.

If the 43-year old does eventually win, it will be a fitting culmination to a career that was mostly nondescript till six years ago, when Silver Linings Playbook provided him with the first opportunity, he says, to play a “…character that was not the opposite of me, but someone who had a different way of speaking or came from a different place."

In this wide-ranging interview, he talks about his acting process, his admiration for Robert De Niro, the most significant changes in his career, becoming a director and working with Lady Gaga in his latest movie.

Do you need to have ambitions to make it into Hollywood?

Yes, for sure. Movies were a major part of my upbringing and I always knew I wanted to be a part of it, but it was terrifying. I was always scared to speak in front of people when I was a kid. I was pretty shy when I was younger, and so my ambitions came from wanting to conquer those fears in order to be a part of a storytelling community. Curiosity, it grabs me fully. And being a curious individual, I want to try things and I just love storytelling so much. It's what gave me hope as a kid. It allowed myself to enter into other worlds. I felt a purpose.

In what moment of your career would you say that you noticed your biggest change as an actor?