Bradley Cooper Shares His Passion Project Inspired by ‘Maestro’

Bradley Cooper revealed that he is currently working on a new project that has been “burning” inside him since the release of Maestro.

The actor, known for his roles in American Sniper and A Star Is Born, shared this insight during a BAFTA Life In Pictures event in London on Friday evening. When asked about his upcoming work, Cooper expressed, “There is something that’s been burning in me since Maestro and I’m writing it now and we’ll see. Talk about terrified, so terrified, way more terrifying.”

Throughout the conversation, Cooper discussed how fear serves as a driving force in his creative process. He stated, “I get terrified in the beginning of a project, like terrified. That’s the scariest thing. But the more work I put in, the less scared I get and the more the excitement starts to overtake the fear. By the time I’m showing up on set, I’m so excited that that really is the propulsive engine rather than fear. But on stage, I was definitely scared. Right before, but I get scared of weird things. Like what if I pass gas on stage or what if I get the hiccups. What happens if I get the hiccups in the middle of The Elephant Man.”

Addressing whether his new project is a musical, Cooper clarified, “It’s not a musical,” adding with a touch of humor when asked about dancing, “I don’t know, you never know, I do love to dance.”

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In the extensive discussion, the 12-time Oscar nominee reflected on his career highlights. He recounted his admiration for Clint Eastwood and their collaboration on American Sniper, sharing a pivotal moment in their working relationship. “Stephen Spielberg was going to direct the movie at that time…and then it was Greg Silverman at Warner Brothers who said, ‘I think Clint is reading the book,’ offhandedly, ‘why don’t you call him.’ I was like, ‘call him?’ He was like, ‘yeah, he’ll talk to you.’ I was like, ‘okay.’ And then I talked to Clint. He said, ‘let me finish it, I will call you on Monday.’ I was in Denmark editing Serena, then Clint called at 2pm and he said, ‘let’s make this fucker.’”

He continued, recalling their first meeting: “That’s what he said. I was like, ‘yes, sir!’ Then we flew to Texas [where Chris Kyle’s widow lived], just me and him and I expected him to have, I don’t even know what I expected, but it was just him and an old school bowling bag with his clothes and we checked into a motel. I remember the room; he called the room, the phone rang, he said, ‘do you want to get some yoghurt? Meet you in the lobby,’ and we go down to the lobby and eat yoghurt and people’s jaws are dropping that Clint Eastwood is in the middle of a Texas motel and we’re eating fake strawberry yoghurt.”

Cooper also discussed his commitment to embodying the character of sniper Chris Kyle, explaining how he gained 60 pounds for the role. He noted, “I did all this work, I was 238lbs, put an inch-and-a-half on my neck. And I learned this from Christian Bale on American Hustle; it did help to stay in the voice. It just made it feel like I wasn’t acting so I’d kind of be like Chris Kyle all the time. And Clint would always make fun of me. We would be eating dinner after work and saying, ‘Bradley is going to have the steak.’ So, it was amazing: Clint Eastwood making fun of your process.”

He reminisced about how initially pop stars Beyoncé and Adele were considered for the Lady Gaga role in A Star Is Born. “It was a $38 million budget, which is not little but little for that movie, and Beyoncé was doing it at the time. I wrote it for her, and we went down that road but then that didn’t work out. Then I went to Adele; I was like a fish out of water and it takes place in England and his career is on the fritz, and then that didn’t work out. I then put it to bed and happened to be at this cancer benefit, and Lady Gaga was singing ‘La Vie en Rose,’ and I just could not; I called her agent the next day and said can I go to her house and be with her, and that’s how the whole thing started.”

Most recently, Cooper wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the dramedy Is This Thing On?, which is set for release this awards season by Searchlight Pictures.