Bradley Cooper Says Famous Director Mocked Him for Having 7 Oscar Noms: Go F Yourself

Posted by Larita Shotwell on Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Bradley Cooper revealed on a recent episode of the “SmartLess” podcast (via IndieWire) that a famous director once mocked him for having 7 career Oscar nominations. The incident occurred at a party during Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” awards season. The music drama boosted Cooper’s Oscar nomination haul from four (three acting noms and a best picture nom as a producer on “American Sniper”) to seven (actor, original screenplay and best picture for “A Star Is Born”).

At an awards season party, Cooper met with a famous director who made a joke out of Cooper’s 7 Oscar nominations. Cooper was joined at the party by a friend, a famous actress, who had three Oscar nominations under her belt. The director told Cooper, “What world are we living in where you have 7 nominations and she’s only got three?”

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“I’m like, ‘Bro, why are you such an asshole?’” Cooper told the “SmartLess” podcast hosts. “I would never fucking forget that. Go fuck yourself.”

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Cooper has since added two more Oscar nominations, bringing his total career haul to 9. Cooper co-produced “Joker” and “Nightmare Alley,” both of which broke into the best picture race. Unfortunately, the director’s comment was not the first time top Hollywood talent grilled Cooper’s history of nabbing Oscar nominations. The actor said a “hero female actress” once made a condescending comment to him after he picked up his first acting nomination for “Silver Linings Playbook.”

“She’s like, ‘I saw your movie. You deserve the nom,’” Cooper said. “I was like, ‘What? I’m sorry, what?’ ‘The nom.’ Then like 10 or 20 minutes later — I’m not kidding — I passed her going to the bathroom and she mouths it, ‘The nom.’ I remember [thinking], what the fuck is this town?’ Can you imagine saying that to somebody? You’ve got to be fucked up to do that.”

Cooper is widely expected to pick up even more Oscar nominations with his next directorial effort, the Netflix-backed Leonard Bernstein drama “Maestro.” Cooper is starring in the title role opposite Carey Mulligan as Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre.

“There’s the movie; a movie about marriage, a movie about family. That’s it,” Cooper told the “SmartLess” podcast about his new movie. “Why is it nuclear? Because it’s this fucking music. Music is nuclear. I had a secret weapon in ‘A Star is Born.’ It was Lady Gaga. The secret weapon I have in this movie is fucking Leonard Bernstein and Gustav Mahler. The music!”

“Maestro” is not expected to be released until 2023.

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