Bradley Cooper produced and plays the lead in David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook, a film nominated for eight Oscars this year including Best Picture and Best Actor for Cooper.
His character Pat Solitano is being treated for bipolar disorder, first in a psychiatric hospital and later in Philadelphia at home with his parents (played by Supporting Actress/Actor nominees Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro).
In an interview with Fresh Air, Cooper talked about how his dad inspired his early love for the movies, telling Host Terry Gross, it felt like they were two kids with popcorn in the theater. The pair even played a game they called "Would You Put Him/Her In The Movie," where coincidentally they'd often cast De Niro.
It was it those times, Cooper explained, his dad felt like a friend introducing him to all his favorite movies, including The Elephant Man, the one that made him decide he wanted to be an actor. Cooper also talked to Gross about how he and Russell approached playing a man with bipolar disorder (not comedic, not dramatic, just real), his Best Actor nomination, and, of course, his 'Sexiest Man Alive' title from People magazine.
Before getting into the interview, Cooper shared his appreciation for Gross, "It's almost surreal that I'm actually hearing your voice and talking with you...normally I'm just listening to you talk with somebody else," he said. So here he is, one Fresh Air fan loving NPR.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.