When Bradley Cooper participated on Monday's edition of Wondery's SmartLess podcast, which is hosted by Arnett and two of their friends and fellow actors, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, he recounted a particularly crucial chat he had with his actor friend Will Arnett years ago.
Cooper said it happened in 2004, while he was living next door to the former Arrested Development star, whose sardonic brand of humor he sought to imitate. The two had gone out to dinner with another acquaintance the night before, and Arnett inquired about Cooper's impressions of the evening. Cooper remembers feeling wonderful about it, especially since he was so humorous throughout it — at least in his own mind — but Arnett had a different perspective. "You were a genuine a******," he said Cooper, reprimanding him for not taking his dogs for a walk. It was 4 p.m. at the time, and the dogs were guarding the entryway."And that was the first time I realized I had a drug and alcohol problem," Cooper explained. "And it was Will who said that to me, and it's something I'll never forget."
Cooper added that, in addition to realizing his addictions, it caused him to understand that the fake, distant attitude he sought to project wasn't working. He realized that it had all come down to his lack of self-esteem and his need to fit in.
After overcoming a cocaine addiction, Bradley Cooper shares the "greatest" joy of having daughter Lea."I was really lost," he admitted. "I was completely lost, and on top of that, I was addicted to cocaine."
To make matters worse, he had injured his Achilles tendon in 2003 after "being fired-slash-quit Alias," as he put it.
Cooper had relocated to Los Angeles for his role in the ABC drama starring Jennifer Garner, and he felt out of place "back when I was in high school I couldn't get into any clubs since no one wanted to take a serious look at me. I was in a deep depression."
So, yeah, he was having difficulties. On the plus side, he had already gone through the stereotyped experiences of those who are eventually flourishing in the entertainment industry by the time he starred in 2009 hit The Hangover — he was 36 at the time.
"But Will is the reason," Cooper added, "because he took the risk of having that difficult talk with me in like July of 2004 that set me on the path of deciding to alter my life."
Cooper, who has a 5-year-old daughter Lea with his former partner, model Irina Shayk, was questioned by Bateman how parenting has changed him.
"Everything is absolutely shaded by, or brought into brilliant colors by the fact that I get to be a parent to a lovely human being," Cooper said. Cooper's most recent endeavor is directing and acting in Maestro, in which he portrays late composer Leonard Bernstein. "You have this amazing event or breakthrough with a script, or you have a wonderful moment on location or in the editing room… you have around 40 of those moments with your child every day. That is not spin; it is simply the truth."
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