31 Intriguing Things We Bet You Never Knew About Bradley Cooper

For over 20 years, Bradley Cooper has been winning over the hearts of millions of people, with his on-screen portrayals of a range of characters. Going from a doorman in New York City, to being named People’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” the actor has achieved tremendous personal success. Here are a few interesting things to know about the actor:

1. Cooper is one of Hollywood’s most accomplished actors known for his sex appeal and piercing blue eyes. Apart from earning seven Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe, and one Tony Award, he has won a BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, and a Grammy Award.
2. He was born Bradley Charles Cooper on January 5, 1975, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents are Gloria, an Italian, employed in a local NBC station and Charles, an Irishman, and a stockbroker. He has an elder sister, Holly.
3. He was born with a defective ear drum affected by ‘Cholesteatoma,’ which was punctured while swimming and was operated on five times from 5 to 18 years of age. He has a hole in his eardrum and can’t swim without earplugs.
4. Cooper attended German town Academy and later joined Georgetown University to graduate with a Bachelors of Arts in English in 1997. He then moved to New York City, for his Masters of Fine Arts program at ‘Actors Studio Drama School,’ at New School University.
5. He worked ceaselessly for his living through his three years at the Actors Studio, serving as a doorman at the Morgan’s Hotel, and teaching inner-city children drama with a nonprofit organization called ‘Learning Through an Expanded Arts Program.’
6. As a child he had many desires like cooking, playing basketball, joining the military academy, and to become a Ninja. All this changed when his father, a lifelong cinephile, introduced him to some classical films such as ‘Apocalypse Now,’‘The Deer Hunter,’ ‘The Elephant Man’ and he was inspired to become an actor.
7. While still in school, Cooper filmed commercials, and he began his professional career with 1999 TV Series ‘Sex and the City,’ playing Jake, the Downtown Smoker and served as a presenter on the tourism series ‘Globe Trekker,’ in 2000. He also appeared in the ‘Wall to Wall Records,’ and ‘The Street.’
8. In 2001, Cooper made his feature film debut as Ben in the satirical comedy film ‘Wet Hot American Summer.’ As a guest on Live with Regis & Kelly in 2010, to a question, he chose Michael Ian Black, as his favorite on-screen kisser, with whom he shared a love scene in this movie.
9. He landed a role of Will Tippin, the journalist in the television series ‘Alias,’ in 2001, working two days a week, two scenes an episode. He was disillusioned with his work and was briefly tempted to walk away from acting altogether until his role was beefed up.
10. His substance addiction almost triggered a suicidal reaction. He once deliberately bashed his head on the concrete floor to demonstrate his toughness and landed up in hospital receiving stitches. Cooper has abstained from alcohol since 2004.
11. Apart from playing the character ‘Jeff’ in a romantic drama ‘Bending All the Rules,’ he appeared in number of television films and series such as ‘Miss Match,’ ‘The Last Cowboy,’ ‘I Want to Marry Ryan Banks,’ ‘Touching Evils,’ Jack & Bobby,’ and ‘Law & Order.’
12. The 2005 comedy film ‘Wedding Crashers,’ directed by David Dobkin, changed the image of him being a nice-guy and a brand new Cooper was born. He played Sack Lodge, the sociopath husband of Rachel McAdams. He got mentioned in the August 2006 issue of ‘GQ’ as one of ‘The Top Twelve Movie Dicks.’
13. As a cooking enthusiastic he was offered the lead character, Jack Bourdain, inspired by Anthony Bourdain, in the television sitcom ‘Kitchen Confidential.’ The show was called-off after four episodes with low ratings and due to Fox’s coverage of the Major League Baseball.
14. After appearing in a minor role in the romantic comedy ‘Failure to Launch’ in 2006, and in a cameo in the satirical comedy ‘The Comebacks’ in 2007, Cooper was cast in the lead as Luke Peterson in ‘Older than America.’
15. In the 2008 horror film ‘The Midnight Meat Train,’ he was cast as freelance photographer who tracks a serial killer. It was a new experience for him to play a dark character, deviating from comic roles, and the film received positive reviews but without great box office returns.
16. As Phil Wenneck, in the 2009 comedy film ‘The Hangover,’ Cooper experienced a turning point in his career. He became a bonafide leading man when he portrayed one of the three friends with retrograde amnesia after the bachelor party. Ironically he is a teetotaler in real life.
17. His performance in ‘The Hangover’ earned him an award at the 13^th Hollywood Film Festival and his first nomination for MTV Movie Awards for Best Comedic Performance.
18. Cooper and his two friends, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis, in the ‘The Hangover,’ were all casual acquaintance before the movie was filmed. After spending fourteen hours a day for three months, sharing this experience really made them genuine buddies.
19. He went on to bag roles in ‘Case 39,’ ‘All About Steve,’ and in romantic comedy ‘Valentine’s Day,’ co-starring with Julia Roberts. The film was a commercial success with the second biggest opening for a romantic comedy though it received negative reviews.
20. The fictional character Templeton ‘Face’ Peck, for the 2010 action film ‘The A-Team,’ required Cooper to cut out sugar, salt, and flour with two-hours grueling underwater workouts for the period of six months prior to filming and during the shoot.
21. On completion of the film ‘The A-Team,’ Cooper became so proficient in weapons training that he was able to reload his M4 rifle in less than four seconds. This was actually shot for the film but left out in the final print.
22. The ‘Variety,’ in its review of science fiction thriller film ‘Limitless,’ credits Cooper of making further strides towards stardom. He plays a struggling writer Edward Morra, who uses nootropic drug to enhance his brain and alter his lifestyle. His character’s last name, Morra, is imperative of ‘to die’ in Portuguese.
23. His performance in the sequel ‘The Hangover Part II,’ was reviewed by ‘Time’ magazine as, ‘he’s both the peacock and the parody of one.’ He is blessed with good looks’ and fantastic timing. He was nominated for ‘Favorite Comedic Movie Actor,’ category at the 38^th People’s Choice Awards.
24. Cooper was voted the ‘Sexiest Man Alive,’ by popular publications including ‘People’ magazine in 2011. He topped the list of 123 super-hot guys. He had size 12 feet when he was 10, expecting to grow 6’ 8” feet tall. But he ended up being 6’ 1” with size 14 feet.
25. In 2009, Cooper participated in ‘Alzheimer’s Association,’ campaign to increase awareness and in 2015, he spoke at the ‘National Geographical Society,’ for the group ‘Got Your 6,’ to bring better representation of military veterans in popular culture.
26. As a member of the board of directors for the charity ‘Hole in the Wall Gang Camp’ since June 2014, he supports and serves people coping with cancer. In 2016, he participated in the launch of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
27. Cooper was once married to Jennifer Esposito before splitting up in November 2007. He was in romance with several including Renee Zellweger, English model Zoe Saldana, Suki Waterhouse, and Russian model Irina Shayk. He has a daughter, Lea de Seine, with Irina Shayk.
28. His role as a bipolar disordered divorcee in the 2012 film ‘Silver Linings Playbook,’ earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and also earned an MTV Movie Award for Best Performance.
29. In 2014, he co-produced and starred as United States Navy SEAL sniper in the biographical war drama ‘American Sniper,’ as Chris Kyle, directed by Clint Eastwood. To get into the role he gained weight by eating six thousand calories a day, going along with intense workouts, and training with Navy SEALs.
30. The musical romantic drama film ‘A Star is Born,’ was produced, directed, co-wrote, and starred by Cooper along with Lady Gaga in the lead. He was convinced by Lady Gaga to sing live, for which he took a guitar lesson from Lukas Nelson, and got more extensive vocal training.
31. Bradley Cooper Net Worth: $100 Million