Bradley Cooper inLicorice Pizza.Photo: © MGM/Everett CollectionBradley Cooperis a self-professedPaul Thomas Andersonfanboy!The actor toldMahershala Aliin a recent chat forVariety’sActors on Actorsseries that he would’ve done “anything” to star inLicorice Pizza, despite initially having other plans.“The reason that I didn’t give up acting is Paul Thomas Anderson,” said Cooper, 47. “When he called me to maybe be in his movie, Mahershala, I mean really, I think I’d open up a door in his movie. I’d do anything.““We broke fromNightmare Alley, I was able to grow a beard and Searchlight was praying that I didn’t getCOVID, because we had to go back and continueNightmare Alley,” he recalled, “but I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m not doing it.’ “Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.Bradley Cooper and Cooper Hoffman inLicorice Pizza.MGMRELATED GALLERY:14 Actors Who Quit Hollywood (and Whether or Not TheyActuallyStuck to Their Decisions)InLicorice Pizza— which was “the first movie back from COVID,” according to Cooper — he plays film producerJon Peters, who in real life was in a relationship withBarbra Streisandfor nearly a decade.“Jon Peters was the beginning of the movie, so I started with everybody else, which was wonderful, rather than coming in when everybody’s already downriver,” Cooper told hisThe Place Beyond the Pinescostar Ali, 47.The eight-timeOscarnominee said he “spent three and a half weeks” with Anderson, 51, who wrote, produced and directed the film that also starsAlana Haim,Sean Penn,Tom Waitsand the latePhilip Seymour Hoffman’s sonCooper, in the latter’s big-screen debut.“I watched all the camera tests. [Paul] was teaching me all about lenses, things I never knew,” Cooper, who earned praise for directingA Star Is Born, shared. “He’s incredible.“RELATED VIDEO: 2 Minutes ofBradley Cooper’s Greatest HitsAs forNightmare Alley, which is in theaters now, Cooper told Ali that theGuillermo del Toro-directed psychological thriller “was an interesting example of how insecure I am” as an actor.Specifically, he was surprised to learn that del Toro, 57, “came to” him to play the lead afterLeonardo DiCaprioexited the project.“I still remember thinking, ‘Oh wow, the guys that don’t hire me, they want to hire me?’ " Cooper said. “Then it was like, ‘Of course I have to do it just because I’ve never been allowed into that group.’ It was insecurity and ego.““Thankfully, it wound up being an incredible experience,” he added. “And that was very interesting to meto play a character, Stanton Carlisle, who has clearly been traumatized as a kid, has no parental foundation, has no foundation for love, intimacy, real connection, and he just is surviving off of a gratification and a desperate need to find out who he is.”
Bradley Cooper inLicorice Pizza.Photo: © MGM/Everett Collection
Bradley Cooperis a self-professedPaul Thomas Andersonfanboy!The actor toldMahershala Aliin a recent chat forVariety’sActors on Actorsseries that he would’ve done “anything” to star inLicorice Pizza, despite initially having other plans.“The reason that I didn’t give up acting is Paul Thomas Anderson,” said Cooper, 47. “When he called me to maybe be in his movie, Mahershala, I mean really, I think I’d open up a door in his movie. I’d do anything.““We broke fromNightmare Alley, I was able to grow a beard and Searchlight was praying that I didn’t getCOVID, because we had to go back and continueNightmare Alley,” he recalled, “but I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m not doing it.’ “Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.Bradley Cooper and Cooper Hoffman inLicorice Pizza.MGMRELATED GALLERY:14 Actors Who Quit Hollywood (and Whether or Not TheyActuallyStuck to Their Decisions)InLicorice Pizza— which was “the first movie back from COVID,” according to Cooper — he plays film producerJon Peters, who in real life was in a relationship withBarbra Streisandfor nearly a decade.“Jon Peters was the beginning of the movie, so I started with everybody else, which was wonderful, rather than coming in when everybody’s already downriver,” Cooper told hisThe Place Beyond the Pinescostar Ali, 47.The eight-timeOscarnominee said he “spent three and a half weeks” with Anderson, 51, who wrote, produced and directed the film that also starsAlana Haim,Sean Penn,Tom Waitsand the latePhilip Seymour Hoffman’s sonCooper, in the latter’s big-screen debut.“I watched all the camera tests. [Paul] was teaching me all about lenses, things I never knew,” Cooper, who earned praise for directingA Star Is Born, shared. “He’s incredible.“RELATED VIDEO: 2 Minutes ofBradley Cooper’s Greatest HitsAs forNightmare Alley, which is in theaters now, Cooper told Ali that theGuillermo del Toro-directed psychological thriller “was an interesting example of how insecure I am” as an actor.Specifically, he was surprised to learn that del Toro, 57, “came to” him to play the lead afterLeonardo DiCaprioexited the project.“I still remember thinking, ‘Oh wow, the guys that don’t hire me, they want to hire me?’ " Cooper said. “Then it was like, ‘Of course I have to do it just because I’ve never been allowed into that group.’ It was insecurity and ego.““Thankfully, it wound up being an incredible experience,” he added. “And that was very interesting to meto play a character, Stanton Carlisle, who has clearly been traumatized as a kid, has no parental foundation, has no foundation for love, intimacy, real connection, and he just is surviving off of a gratification and a desperate need to find out who he is.”
Bradley Cooperis a self-professedPaul Thomas Andersonfanboy!
The actor toldMahershala Aliin a recent chat forVariety’sActors on Actorsseries that he would’ve done “anything” to star inLicorice Pizza, despite initially having other plans.
“The reason that I didn’t give up acting is Paul Thomas Anderson,” said Cooper, 47. “When he called me to maybe be in his movie, Mahershala, I mean really, I think I’d open up a door in his movie. I’d do anything.”
“We broke fromNightmare Alley, I was able to grow a beard and Searchlight was praying that I didn’t getCOVID, because we had to go back and continueNightmare Alley,” he recalled, “but I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m not doing it.’ "
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
Bradley Cooper and Cooper Hoffman inLicorice Pizza.MGM
RELATED GALLERY:14 Actors Who Quit Hollywood (and Whether or Not TheyActuallyStuck to Their Decisions)
InLicorice Pizza— which was “the first movie back from COVID,” according to Cooper — he plays film producerJon Peters, who in real life was in a relationship withBarbra Streisandfor nearly a decade.
“Jon Peters was the beginning of the movie, so I started with everybody else, which was wonderful, rather than coming in when everybody’s already downriver,” Cooper told hisThe Place Beyond the Pinescostar Ali, 47.
The eight-timeOscarnominee said he “spent three and a half weeks” with Anderson, 51, who wrote, produced and directed the film that also starsAlana Haim,Sean Penn,Tom Waitsand the latePhilip Seymour Hoffman’s sonCooper, in the latter’s big-screen debut.
“I watched all the camera tests. [Paul] was teaching me all about lenses, things I never knew,” Cooper, who earned praise for directingA Star Is Born, shared. “He’s incredible.”
RELATED VIDEO: 2 Minutes ofBradley Cooper’s Greatest Hits
As forNightmare Alley, which is in theaters now, Cooper told Ali that theGuillermo del Toro-directed psychological thriller “was an interesting example of how insecure I am” as an actor.
Specifically, he was surprised to learn that del Toro, 57, “came to” him to play the lead afterLeonardo DiCaprioexited the project.
“I still remember thinking, ‘Oh wow, the guys that don’t hire me, they want to hire me?’ " Cooper said. “Then it was like, ‘Of course I have to do it just because I’ve never been allowed into that group.’ It was insecurity and ego.”
“Thankfully, it wound up being an incredible experience,” he added. “And that was very interesting to meto play a character, Stanton Carlisle, who has clearly been traumatized as a kid, has no parental foundation, has no foundation for love, intimacy, real connection, and he just is surviving off of a gratification and a desperate need to find out who he is.”
source: people.com
