Summary
- Bradley Cooper's career as an actor started with struggle, but when he finally gained recognition, he became in-demand immediately and worked with A-list actors.
- Despite his success, Cooper enjoyed living an anonymous life in New York City where he could blend in with the public, unlike in California where he attracts more attention.
- Cooper has dealt with being upstaged by his more famous co-stars, like Matthew McConaughey, but he has always been gracious and accommodating to fans, even signing autographs as McConaughey when asked.
Bradley Cooper's story as a struggling actor is not unfamiliar. From not being able to get into the auditions he wanted to for meaty roles because he was not a name in Hollywood to working to make ends meet for several years until his big break came, Cooper lived the life so many actors do.
However, unlike many of his contemporaries, when Cooper was finally noticed by Hollywood, he was in demand immediately. From being a working actor on Alias to being in more than a handful of films in 2008, Cooper's career took off and allowed him to work with big names like Jim Carrey, Will Arnett, Jason Sudeikis, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly, Matthew McConaughey, and more.
While this was a blessing to be able to not only constantly work but work with A-list actors, working with McConaughey proved to have some drawbacks after filming wrapped. This is because years ago, when Cooper was hardly recognized, he was upstaged by McConaughey even when McConaughey was not with him.
Bradley Cooper Said He Was Hardly Recognized Back In 2008
Despite the fact that he was making a name for himself in 2008, with the release of six films, Bradley Cooper reflected that he was still a relatively unknown actor. He lived in New York City and could blend in with the crowds.
Cooper was becoming an A-list actor in front of the public's eyes but enjoying the ability to live in plain view of fans, a life that most celebrities would dream of but once a level of fame is reached, becomes nearly unattainable.
"You were in five movies this year I think," Conan O'Brien noted during one of Bradley's appearances on his show. "I was thinking about it. You're reaching this saturation level where people are recognizing you now I bet."
"You'd think so, maybe, right?" Cooper said. "But they're not."
O'Brien replied, "They're not?"
"Which is actually kind of a blessing really," Cooper explained. "Because I'm able to work, thank God and live a pretty anonymous life."
These days, Cooper splits his time between the East and West Coasts, given his fortune after having made several films that have grossed over $100 million. When in California, it is much harder to blend in and hide from fans and the media.
However, when he is in New York City, he is still able to blend in with the public unless there is a specific reason why the paparazzi is on the lookout for him. Neither of which Cooper would have believed would have been his life over a decade ago when all people wanted to do was speak to him because he had worked with McConaughey.
Working With Matthew McConaughey Made Bradley Cooper A Nobody
Before Cooper had a massive number of films under his belt in one year, he worked on the film Failure to Launch with McConaughey. While Cooper had a decent amount of screentime with his then-more famous co-star, it was on McConaughey people wanted to talk about when they recognized Cooper out in public.
While most actors would get annoyed with this, Cooper just played along and obliged requests of fans, even if this meant signing an autograph that did not belong to him.
"I did this independent film in Minnesota. I was at an Applebee's," Cooper explained to O'Brien. "This is actually the worst way to get recognized."
Cooper went on to say, "This woman came up. She was so nervous, saying, 'Oh my God. You were in that movie Failure to Launch?'"
"'Yeah, yeah,'" Cooper replied. '''With Matthew McConaughey?'"
Cooper said, "'Yeah, yeah,'" to the fan who replied "'Can I get your autograph?'"
"Absolutely," Cooper said. "Do you have a pen? Great."
The fan looked at the autograph and said, "Oh, no, no. Can you write Matthew?"
"Oh, but I'm not Matthew," Cooper said.
"Oh, I know, the fan replied. "But you were next to him. That's okay."
"Just the fact that I was sitting next to him in the movie," Cooper said to O'Brien.
"It means you can now sign his name," O'Brien said. "That's terrible."
"I was like, 'Okay.' I did it," Cooper said. "And I felt awful, by the way."
These days, there are very few who do not know who Cooper is. So much so, that because of his once high-profile romance with Irina Shayk and other female celebrity ties, Cooper has become tabloid fodder, a position that Cooper likely never saw himself in when he was beginning his acting career.
Now, Bradley Is A Paparazzi Target (And Tied To Irina Shayk)
Given his relationship with Shayk, the paparazzi like to do their best to get pictures of the two of them together. When this happens, rumors swirl that Bradley and Irina are working on getting back together. However, it appears that the two are just committed to a good co-parenting relationship for their daughter. Instead, in most recent days, Cooper has been linked to Gigi Hadid.
Since September 2023, Cooper and Hadid have been linked. The two have been seen going on weekend vacations together with sources claiming that Hadid likes that Cooper "is a dad."
Before Hadid, Cooper was linked to several other celebrities, including, Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Lopez, Zoe Saldana, Suki Waterhouse, and more. Cooper was even linked to Huma Abedin, a political aide for Hillary Clinton.
The longest of his relationships in more recent years was with Shayk, however. The two were together for four years and welcomed their daughter, Lea De Seine in 2017, before they officially split in 2019.
Cooper has also had his fair share of paparazzi photos snapped as a result of filming out in public spaces for scenes for his movies. One of which, Maestro caught Cooper some backlash after the paparazzi snapped multiple shots of him wearing a prosthetic nose to portray famed composer Leonard Bernstein.
However, Berstein's family came to Cooper's defense and said that they were fine with the use of the prosthetic and believed that their father would be as well.
While Cooper may have wished to be more recognized for his work in the earlier days of his career, to have a bit more autonomy now that he has more fame is likely what Cooper wishes for.
Unfortunately, it is hard to have both with the level of fame that Cooper has reached, and because of this, he is doing his best to navigate the paparazzi and fans while trying to keep some of his private life, private.
