Bradley Cooper almost quit acting before THIS famous movie; details inside

Hollywood heartthrob Bradley Cooper recently spoke about the time he 'almost quit acting' and how Paul Thomas Anderson made the actor backtrack on his decision. In a conversation with Mahershala Ali for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series, Cooper revealed that when Paul approached him to 'maybe be in his movie' Licorice Pizza., he was overjoyed. Expressing his adoration for the iconic filmmaker, Bradley quipped that he would even just 'open up a door in his movie' let alone act. 

Bradley Cooper 'almost quit acting' before being offered Licorice Pizza

The actor further explained how he has able to shoot Paul's film during a hiatus on Guillermo del Toro's project Nightmare Alley. He mentioned that he grew a beard, with Searchlight (Nightmare Alley's co-producer) praying that he didn't contract COVID as they had to resume the film's shoot. However, Cooper thought to himself "There's no way I'm not doing it". 

Reportedly, A Star is Born actor shot his role in Licorice Pizza right at the beginning of the film's shoot but still hung around the sets for almost 3 weeks to take notes from Paul and soak it all in. He further added how Paul was "teaching me all about lenses, things I never knew. He's incredible". 

For the uninitiated, Licorice Pizza chronicles a stormy relationship between the child actor Gary Valentine and the older Alana in the 1970s. Cooper was seen as the supporting character Jon Peters (a real-life film producer). The film also starred  Alana Haim in her film debut, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, as well as Benny Safdie in pivotal roles. 

The movie also bagged four nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, including 'Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy'. 

More on Bradley Cooper's work front 

The actor is awaiting the release of his second directorial, Maestro. The film comes as a biopic of late composer Leonard Bernstein. It was also revealed that the actor will feature in the film in the lead role while Carey Mulligan will be essaying the female lead. Presented by Amazon Studios, the Maestro will start filming in May 2022, according to Variety. 

Image: AP