Bradley Cooper

Former “Alias” star Bradley Cooper has quickly emerged as one of today’s most popular and in-demand leading movie-men. Hot on the heels of his successful stints in “The A-Team” (2010) and “The Hangover” (2009), Cooper shares the screen with Robert De Niro in “Limitless”.

Bradley, will you tell us a little bit about Eddie Morra, who you saw him as as a character and how you came to choose this role?

Um, well, I read the script, maybe eight moths ago–nice hat–um, uh, that Leslie Dixon wrote based on a novel by Alan Glynn, an Irishman who wrote, I think, in 2001 or 4 called The Dark Fields, which was a really… I didn’t read the novel until after I got the role. Uh, didn’t even know it was a novel. Um, but she wrote this incredible script, just really incredible script with a phenomenal character, Eddie. His last name wasn’t Morra then. It was something else, Eddie something else. Not “Something else”, but something else. And, um, and I met with Neil Burger, ‘cause I just thought, oh, wow. To play a guy that goes from A to Z like that would just be incredible. Um, and, and so I met with him to just try to basically pitch him why I had to play it. And then, um, I think about six months later, uh, we, we, we got the offer to do it. And then it was about just, um, hopefully getting it made. Um, but I, I’m sort of talking around. The question was just, “What do I think of Eddie Morra?” Yeah. I, I loved him. Um, I liked, I liked the idea that when we meet him, it’s not that he feels sorry for himself at all. He’s just actually resigned to the fact that his, he’s, his life is such that his potential wasn’t fulfilled. And that’s where we meet him that day. There’s something about that. You know, it was cool that he had a book contract when he was twenty-five, um, and he talks about how great it’s going to be. But when he’s thirty-five and it still hasn’t been written, it’s just not cool anymore. And, um, to then see a guy who goes from this, sort of, complacency to then having power and what he does with that power and what his plan is, which I still don’t know. I mean, you’re left in the movie, you really don’t know. His plan was not to make money at all. Um, he says when he comes out of the water, you know, “I had a plan and money was going to let me make, allow me to get there.” But, you know, then in the end, he’s in politics. So, what was this guy up to? And I liked him. I thought he was a good guy, actually. I enjoyed his, uh, I enjoyed– I liked playing old Eddie a lot. The crew did, too. We would lament the days where the wig wasn’t there. (chuckles) We said, are we gonna take the wig out? We liked old Eddie.

So, once Eddie has access to this drug, I mean, of course, he finishes his book. But then he undergoes a series of career changes, like you just noted. If you had access to a drug that perhaps made your potential “limitless”, do you think you would still be an actor? Would you venture into other areas? Do you think you might become a writer? You seem to have a special affinity for writers, playing writers. This and the words.

Right. Um, you know, I’ve obviously thought about this just from the questions and, uh, I think for sure I would definitely try to learn as many languages as I could right away, I think. And then I would probably after that, much like he did, um, uh, learn as many instruments as I could. After that, I don’t know, but I would probably try to get money so I could go around and utilize that. But it would be incredible to just start, like, you know, jamming with all these great musicians and speaking lang-, you know, communicating with people wherever you are, and all the different dialects. I mean, it would be incredible. Um, I don’t know what I would do after that. But I would still be an actor. And a director. I would probably start finally getting off my ass and, uh, and facing the fear, ‘cause all I really want to do is direct movies, anyway. I just haven’t done it.

Right…

I mean, it would be more about a story, like there’s this one story that I absolutely love. Um, but yeah, just to do stories that I love. Yeah. You have to as a director. There’s got to be something you want to tell and that’s the, that’s the, the, the engine with which, you know, spurs all of the work that you have to do in order to create this story. Um, but you have to love some sort of nugget of what you’re telling, I think, to be a filmmaker.

This movie solely rests on your performance. What challenges does that create for you?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s take it easy. (chuckles)

It’s very much your thing. It’s all on your shoulders. What challenges did that create for you, personally? What do you expect from yourself? And which area do you go to achieve your goal?

Um, well, I’m going to answer that in two ways. One, you know, I didn’t feel like it rests on my shoulders, ‘cause I didn’t direct the movie. You know, it’s Neil Burger’s film. But I definitely did have a, uh, uh, I was allowed the opportunity to help, uh, be the guy on the field to, um, you know, to play this character who the story revolves around. And I, I loved it. And I think that, um, which may wind up being my downfall is, I really do love… I’ve made myself a very small window of what I enjoy in this business, which is I love being a big part of the storytelling process. It really fulfills me. Whether or not I’ll get that opportunity again, I don’t know. I hope to. Um, but, you know, if this movie’s successful then I probably will. If it’s not, it’ll be harder to. Um, but I absolutely loved it. I love, uh, that pressure, ‘cause to me it’s excitement. Um, especially when you know what you’re doing. I mean, I found a hook with Eddie early on reading the script, so I never felt the pressure of, “Oh, my god. How am I–?” I just couldn’t wait to get out and play him each day. I couldn’t get enough of it. Um, and I enjoyed the aspect of the drug. I, um, I tend to speak very fast and, uh, so I like this, sort of, these paragraphs that I had to memorize and speak. ‘Cause when he’s on the drug, he can’t, you know, there’s no, you know, or stutter. Anything. He thinks in these succinct paragraphs that just come out, and, uh, I loved doing that. Neil shot a lot of those in one. So there was no cut. It was almost like doing a play. Um, I, I love that, that experience.

So when you were coming up in the Actors Studio, would anything like an enhancement drug be something that you would be interested in taking?

Yes. (chuckles)

Oh, yeah? Well, talk about that aspect of, of this being so available to, to kids still. Is it a danger?

N.Z.T.?

No. The real stuff. Adderall, Ritalin.

Oh. That I don’t know anything about. Yeah.

Do you think it’s dangerous that we don’t really looking at it as a serious drug? And they’re just taking it, these kids?

Well, in terms of this movie, you know, whether it, it, um, helps to provoke questions and conversations like that, that, that’s, you know, that is what it is. Um, that we set out to do that? You know, I didn’t set out to do that as the actor and I, I found this movie to be a compelling story about power and what you do with power, um, much more than, uh, drugs. Um, it goes from a guy who all of a sudden has power, and how he utilizes that power over other people, over what he can accomplish. And when you abuse it and whether you treat it with respect. Now, if a drug can be equated with power, then it becomes a conversation about the drug. Um, but nothing specific to that. Didn’t really answer it, but… (chuckles) I think I did. I mean, uh, I’ll think about it.

The first thing that you did when you were taking the drug was clear your physical surroundings. How important do you find that that aspect is for clearing your mind?

You know, I, I definitely am a huge, uh, uh, creature of my environment. It dictates my emotional state, uh, to a, to a huge degree. So, yeah, environment is everything. Um, and I like the fact that he mentions it. It’s like, “What is this drug?” It makes you anal retentive. What the hell’s going on here? Um, but that’s one of the first things, well, not the first thing he does, but, um, the third thing he does. Um, but yeah, environment is huge to me. And sometimes I like being in complete chaos. And other times I like it to be clean. It’s not one thing all the time.

When it comes to thriller dramas like ”Limitless” versus ”Hangover” that’s more comedic, what mindset do you use to prep for either role?

Same mindset. Yeah. It’s completely the same. Yeah. It’s, it’s playing a role, and whatever that happens to be. Um, it may demand different, uh, ways in, but the structure’s the same in terms of, you have to prepare. Acting’s acting, whether it’s comedy or, or, or drama. There’s a music to it, and the music changes with comedy. That, that’s all, for me. I mean, yeah.

What’s the difference, do you think, between the kind of adrenalin rush that focuses you when you’re acting and the experience of the drug that gives you access to all of this extra information and knowledge? And you spoke earlier about, um, your choice of storytelling and how you, uh, you feel the necessity to have a kernel of something that you love in it. So, if you could term that kernel an essential truth for you, what would it be?

Um, uh, okay. So, uh, the first question, which I forgot already. I’m obviously not on the drug. (chuckles) I’m obviously not on N.Z.T. right now. Adrenalin. Um, oh, as opposed to the drug. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thanks. He’s on it. Um, the dr-, uh, uh, adrenalin is, um, it’s, I feel like, I mean, I made things specific for me because the idea of reading up on the way, you know, neural pathways operate in one’s brain and how synapses function wouldn’t serve me in terms of organically inhabiting that idea. Uh, I had to find something specific for me, which had nothing to do with anything like that in order to play whatever that expansiveness is in my mind. I didn’t choose the, uh, the feeling of adrenalin from doing something, whether it’s playing a sport or getting into a fight or, uh, or acting on stage. Just because, to me, my experience sensory-wise with that is, um, uh… Maybe I should have. I probably should have. It would have been better. (chuckles) But it, but it, it feels, um, like I’m on a drug, uh, when those endorphins are released. And for me, N.Z.T., it, it wasn’t a drug. It didn’t feel like I was on a drug. It felt, it was just clear and focused. It was nothing difference. It was just, it was calm. There was a calm to, to him, to me, when I was doing that that I, I, I worked on. Um, and he actually says that when he says, “I wasn’t high. I wasn’t wired. I was just… knew what I wanted to do and how to do it.” And that was it right there. Just focused. And the ability to focus. It was almost like lasers focusing in all these different directions at the same time.

And the nugget?

Um, the nugget. Well, if it’s a truth, it’s love. Because I would, I have to love something in order to have it mean something to me. Uh, but it changes for everything. It was a moment in the script that I read where I thought, “Oh, yeah. I have to do everything I can to try to play that role.” It was one moment. It was when he drinks the blood, when I read it in the script. I, I first of all, I thought I’ve never seen that before. And if it’s, if, if it’s pulled off, the movie works. If it doesn’t, it fails. In that moment, if the audience is laughing at the movie, the movie doesn’t work. But if they’re laughing because of however, “Oh, my. What the hell’s going on? And I feel weird and this is crazy” that’s a good thing. But for Eddie, it’s that utter, it’s an example of how low or where he’s willing to go to survive and to maintain whatever it is, that power that he has. And I just sort of loved that, well, how do we get from this guy in the beginning of the movie to that moment. That I need to play. I need to experience. And for Hangover, for every movie it’s been a moment. For Hangover it was the phone call. When I called Tracy, it was more like I just saw it, how it was gonna be. I thought, “Oh, I would love to do that.”

And did that coincide with your vision of it?

Yes. Yeah. Of the blood drinking? Yeah. I mean, we had to adhere to ratings and stuff like that. So, um, it wouldn’t be exactly. But, yeah, I’d say so. Yeah. Sure.

Do you see this as a monster movie? He’s implicated as a murderer, and at the end, he seems to outfox the fox, played by Robert De Niro, or the shark? Uh, and so it’s kind of like a happy ending in that the monster takes over the world?

Um, well, it depends. I mean, we don’t, I don’t see him as a monster. So, in order for there to be a monster movie, he’d have to be the monster. Uh, no, I don’t see Eddie as the monster at all. I, I don’t think he killed her. (chuckles) But he may have! You know, I mean, I’m not the one to tell. I mean, once the movie’s out there, your, your opinion of what Eddie did is just as valid as mine. There is no difference. Um, but I certainly didn’t, uh, see him as, um, he certainly isn’t a hoarder of, of, of merchandise. He didn’t abuse… It’s interesting how he’s used his power in the movie. You know, it, it’s not to make money.

To rule the world.

Well, we don’t know. You know? We don’t know where he’s going. Um, yeah. So, I didn’t see it as a monster movie. No. But that’s interesting. I like that idea. ‘Cause monsters might be good, too. Who says they’re bad?

I think our readers are gonna have, are gonna be really interested in the ending, and the end effects of N.Z.T. that Eddie has. And I was wondering if you could elaborate on some of these new super-powers that he know has, like when he put his hand over Carl Van Loon’s heart. Etcetera.

Yeah. Um, you want me to talk about what it is that he’s able to do? He can recall anything.

Yeah. Like, he’s used– I’m curious what his new super-powers are, like what, that we haven’t seen yet.

That we haven’t seen in the rest of the movie?

I’m curious what his new super-powers are.

Well, anything he’s ever observed, seen, heard, tastes or smells since basically in the womb he can recall in an instant and utilize for whatever way he wants. Um, and, and then, basically, by the end, this idea that, that, that the drug has evolved him such that he’s able to sort of utilize physics in every possible way, so that he’s able to read, sort of, the temperature of here he is, you know, when he’s putting his hand on, on his skin that he’s able to somehow hear. But more than that, because even, even like, uh, you wouldn’t be able to tell whether the walls of his heart are dilated by that, that there’s somehow he’s able to have a connection with the, the blood and the flow and whether there’s a blockage and stuff like that. You know, normal shit. (chuckles)

And looking at behavior. You know, he could tell that that guy was– Sorry. He could tell that that guy was texting, and then he was able to figure out that there’s sixty feet. And in order to stop, given that make of the truck and the way the brakes worked, that thirty feet wouldn’t be enough. That he’s gonna rear end that taxi. So it’s not like he’s omniscient at all. It’s just all logic. But he could do it like that.

Can he see the truck?

Well, I mean, eh, not, not like Superman. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But if you saw someone texting over there, you could probably see their heads down, but they’re driving. You know, it’s like, as if you weren’t looking at Carl Van Loon, you were literally watching that van, you could probably tell sixty feet out, thirty feet out that he’s texting without having– It’s not like his vision all of a sudden has improved because of the drug at all. It’s just how he’s able to utilize his brain.

You’ve always been a successfully working actor. But with ”Hangover” your career really took off. You suddenly became the star, the sex symbol. So, how did you experience this? I mean, was it also amusing for you? Or did you ask yourself why now? And, um, and I read somewhere you wanted to become a chef as well when you were young? Why are, didn’t you go in this direction?

Why am I not a chef? Um, clearly, being a part of a movie that’s so financially lucrative provides opportunities and that’s what that movie did for everybody, from the D.P. to everybody. Um, so, uh, and with that comes a higher profile, so you had paparazzi. That was a new thing. Um, you know, that you just have to learn to navigate. Um, the, the, the great part is that I was able to, you know, do a movie like Limitless. You know, maybe Relativity wouldn’t have hired me to do it if I hadn’t been a part of Hangover, which was so successful. Um, uh, I love cooking. Uh, yes. Um, I, I, I was more interested to play a chef than to be a chef. So I think that told me early on that acting was where I wanted to go.

Directing is like cooking in a way.

That, that’s very true. Yeah.

Speaking of ”The Hangover”, there’s a lot of rumors that Charlie Sheen is going to be one of your co-stars. So, confirm, deny, and what are your thoughts of possibly working with him?

Um, well, unless they have a time machine and we can go back to Bangkok, uh, my understanding is that we already filmed that movie. So… (chuckles) I’m not quite sure. It’s an interesting, uh, thing to, to start spreading, but you’d have to, you know, be a part of the Starship Enterprise, I think, in order to make that happen.

“The Hangover” franchise has had a major affect on your, uh, onscreen image and will continue to do so again later this year. I mean, has that caused you any concern about being locked into a genre? And, um, in that context, how important is it that you do movies like ”Limitless”?

Um, it doesn’t scare me only because I operate pretty simply. I want to work with great filmmakers and great actors and get better as an actor. That’s basically it. And what that usually means is it’s not gonna be the same kind of movie or the same genre, uh, or the same role. Um, so, by hook or by crook I’m going to try to get different roles just because I’m operating under that premise. Um, doing a movie like, doing a TV show like Alias, for an example, I played probably the nicest guy in the world, this guy Will Tippin, who was a journalist. And I would audition for movies, uh, during that time and afterwards, and normally the feedback would be, you know, he’s such a nice guy, Bradley. You know, I don’t really see an edge, but such a sweet guy. Please tell him we’d love meeting him. And then David Dobkin took a real chance and hired me as the heavy in the Wedding Crashers to play a sociopathic bad guy. And then it became, um, Bradley, he’s an asshole, right? I mean, really that’s what they… (chuckles) He seems like he’s really an asshole. He wasn’t acting. I could tell there was something really deep going on. (chuckles) And, and so, you know, like, Elias Kazan said, if you’re gonna audition to play a cowboy you better show up with the horse. You know. It, it, it’s, it’s beyond my control who’s going to cast me or what, how you’re going to be pigeonholed. Um, but all I, for me, it’s just basic. I just want to keep doing different things because I want to get better. So, hopefully, I’ll be hired to do them. So, Hangover was a huge success. Will, will it mean that I’ll be cast in movies like that? No, because I won’t do movies like that. But then it also might mean I’ll never work. So, we’ll see.

What about Robert De Niro? Uh, what about the opportunity to work with him, what it was like to work with him? Uh, you know, how he came to be involved with it and everything?

Yeah. I mean, eh, that was a just, talk about icing on the cake, I mean, I never, when I first got the movie did I think that Carl Van Loon would be played by Robert De Niro. And, uh, my past with him, without him knowing it, goes back a long way. Um, just because he’s the reason I became an actor pretty much. Um, and then, uh, I went to school at the Actors Studio MFA program here in New York and he came to our school and I asked him a question. And, uh, and that meant, like, the world to me because…

Actually, I wanted to ask him a question about– No, I wanted to ask him the question I asked, but I was so scared that it was such a stupid question that I, I was gonna ask some bullshit question about The Mission. And there’s a scene in The Mission, this profile shot when he’s with the epee and I was going to say, “Hey, did you train with swords?” and some stupid thing. And right before, I, I–‘cause we had the microphone thing like this–someone stood up and asked him about The Mission? And I thought, well, I can’t ask him about The Mission. So, then they came to me and I was sort of standing there, and all of a sudden the real question I wanted to ask him came out, which was, when you were doing Awakenings, there’s a scene where he wants to go for a walk and he has to be interviewed by the panel, the medical panel. And he’s trying so hard to be normal, but the do-, the Adderall, whatever he was taking, the, uh–I can’t remember what that drug was–it started to not work anymore. And so he’s starting to get the ticks. And one tick was his right hand, and he would make up for it by pretending to, to, to brush his eyebrow. And he was like this when he talking and I thought, god, it was just so genius. And I asked him is that something you saw people do, try to, because if they were embarrassed by their ticks to make up for it in some way, or was that something that just happened? And I thought that was gonna, like, “What?” And then he literally went like this, he went, “Yeah. I didn’t, uh, no. I didn’t see anybody do that, but, uh, that’s a good question.” (laughs)

And I was, like, it was like a beam of light shot into my chest. I was so excited. I literally, I was like this. I never sat down, too. I was like– And I looked around, like, “Did everybody hear that?” (laughs) “He said that, right?” Yeah. So that was the first experience with Robert De Niro. And then I put myself on tape to play his son in Everybody’s Fine, this movie that he did recently and my mother played him. And we did it in Venice, at my house in Venice, and, um, the tape got to him. I couldn’t even, I put myself on tape because I couldn’t even get an audition for it. And he somehow say it and wanted to meet me, so I met him at his hotel. My mom and I drove there. And that was a, you know, I was there for, like, five minutes and we sat down and he said, uh, he was like, um, “Uh, yeah. You’re, um, you’re not going to get it. But, uh, but I, uh, I see, I see it. I, I see it. I see you. I see you. I see it. Okay.” And that was it. And then, and then he said, he said, uh, he’s goes, “What, what I, what, um, who-who-who was reading the other role?” I said, “Oh, that was so weird. My mom was reading it.” He goes, “Yeah. I thought that.” And then that was it, and then I left. And my mom said, “What happened?” I said, “Well, I, I, I didn’t get it.” But, uh, but he said I, I have it. He sees it. And I think I, yeah. and then I saw him, and then cut to, I was a juror for the Tribeca Film Festival. So, we were at this lunch a year later, and I sit down next to him. I was like, “Hey! How you doing?” I was like, “I auditioned for the–“ No idea who I was. And he actually said, he was like, “This Boy’s Life?” No, no. Wait, when I was, like, twelve? No, no. No. No. And then cut to, you know, I’m sitting in his hotel room in L.A. trying to talk him in, pitching him the idea to do Limitless, which was so crazy, ‘cause we had– ‘Cause to make it worthwhile for any actor, we combined two characters. Originally, in the script, twelve months later it’s a completely different character that comes to his office and says, “We know you’ve been on the drug.” So, we, we combined the two and made Carl Van Loon one, you know, both characters. So, uh, and he was great. I mean, at that meeting, I didn’t, it was like I was on the drug, I didn’t not stop talk– ‘Cause one thing I learned about him is he does not like small talk, which was great. So, I got in the hotel room. I didn’t say, like, “Hey, how you doing? How’s the room?” You know. I just sat down and went, “Okay. So…” and I spoke for, like, fifteen minutes, and he went, “Let me give you my cell.” And he gave me my cell, and then we were, like, texting ideas and then, like, a week later, or like two days later he said, “I’ll do it.” And Leslie Dixon and Neil Burger. It wasn’t just me, it was a full assault to try to get him to do the movie. Um, and then, so, by the time we got there to shoot, it was, it was effortless. I felt like I’d, and plus, I’ve seen him in so many movies I felt such a connection to him. So, it was wonderful. Wonderful. And I hope to work with him, uh, you know, a lot in the future.

What was it in De Niro that made you want to be an actor?

It was moments. Uh, it was, um, I mean, Raging Bull was the first thing I saw in him. But I was so disconnected from it, all I could get was the emotional experience that Scorsese was, was, was creating, not really what De Niro was doing. Um, but I mean, The Mission, when he comes up the, when he has that, you know, he’s carrying the rocks up at the mission. There was something about that moment when he lands and he’s crying and they’re touching his face. Awakenings, when he dances with Penelope Ann Miller in the hospital. And then she leaves and he’s holding the, you know, I was just… And then, of course, Deer Hunter and Jackknife and, um, uh, so, so many movies. You know, Falling in Love, um, you know, uh, when he played Capone in Untouchables, uh, just so, so many. In Brazil. I loved him at the end of Brazil. I mean, I’ve seen everything, you know. So, yeah.

Will he return to drama?

He just did Stone, which was a, I don’t know if you saw that performance. And then, Everybody’s Fine. He was incredible in Everybody’s Fine when he, when he has a heart attack in the bed and he thinks he’s seeing everybody. That performance is incredible. It’s just about what, what is the box office success. People think that’s all they’re doing, but he does dramas all the time.

I was curious, did you ever feel like Eddie, um, at the beginning of the film. Did you ever feel that down and out feeling?

Sure. Oh, absolutely. Oh, god, yeah.

As, as an actor?

As a human being. Yeah. As a human being. Yeah, yeah. Sure. I think everybody, if anybody’s in touch with themselves it’s cer-, I mean, do you feel worthless at points in your life and think things aren’t, aren’t gonna happen the way you wanted them to? Yeah. Sure.

When was that point?

Today. Just now, just when I was speaking to that lady. (laughs) No, it was the worst. (laughs) Oh, of course. There he is. Neil Burger, ladies and gentlemen.

I wanted to ask about the, uh, some of the scenes where you’re shooting yourself multiple times and what that was like. How much time you spent doing those and what was the process of doing those? Like, for instance, in your par-, you know the party and they show you…

Yeah, yeah. I mean, that was all, uh, uh, Neil Burger, who directed the movie, created– (laughs) Who, uh, who came up with all that, which was, uh, I had only seen, you know, in Being John Malkovich, the, I’d never seen that before except for in that movie. Um, and that was, uh, yeah, it was very time consuming and it was a movie that we, that, we were slammed for time all the time. I mean, it was a very, like, get up and go, and so it was very, sort of, mathematical. But I really enjoyed that. I like, sort of, having to act within the confines, structural confines, sort of, there’s something interesting about that. ‘Cause you have to go here and here, and you have to be able to be organic in that little space. Not necessarily that stuff, ‘cause I was just cleaning the apartment, but–

I mean, you have to be very precise. I mean, I always love the idea of Wes Anderson talking about Royal Tennenbaums when there’s that scene with Gene Hackman is telling Anjelica Huston that he’s dying, and it’s shot, sort of like this. But Hackman only could go in that part of the frame and she could only go right to there. And just, to be able to having to act within that structure was very exciting, I would think.

“Limitless” is now showing