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Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper is an American actor
who first gained recognition in the television shows Alias and Jack & Bobby. He later appeared
in a supporting role in Wedding Crashers , Yes Man , and He's Just Not That Into You . He
achieved fame with his roles in The Hangover trilogy , The A-Team , Limitless , Silver
Linings Playbook , The Place Beyond the Pines , and American Hustle . His work in David
O. Russell's films Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle earned him Academy Award
nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively. In 2011, People magazine
named him the "Sexiest Man Alive". Early life
Cooper was born in Philadelphia and grew up in nearby Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. His mother,
Gloria (née Campano), is of Italian descent and worked for the local NBC affiliate. His
father, Charles J. Cooper (died 2011, age 71), was of Irish descent, and worked as a
stockbroker for Merrill Lynch. He has one sister named Holly. Cooper was raised Catholic.
While attending Germantown Academy, Cooper worked at the Philadelphia Daily News. After
graduating from Germantown Academy in 1993, he attended Villanova University for his first
year, then transferred to Georgetown University, from which he graduated with honors with a
BA in English in 1997. Cooper became fluent in French at Georgetown and spent six months
as an exchange student in Aix-en-Provence, France. Later in 2000, he received an MFA
in acting from Actors Studio Drama School at The New School in New York City. While
he was studying at The New School, Cooper worked as a doorman at the Morgans Hotel.
Career Cooper began his professional acting career
with a small role in the television show Sex and the City in 1999 and served as a presenter
in the adventure series Globe Trekker. After his film debut, Wet Hot American Summer in
2001, Cooper landed his role as Will Tippin in the successful television drama Alias.
He returned twice to Alias as a guest star after leaving the show in 2003, and he also
guest-starred on the short-lived TV series Miss Match in the same year. Cooper shot scenes
for the 2002 psychological thriller Changing Lanes, the footage was removed from the finished
film but is featured on the film's DVD and Blu-ray releases.
Cooper played the part of cowboy and race horse trainer Morgan Murphy in the TV movie
The Last Cowboy, which aired on the Hallmark Channel on January 17, 2003. He wants to help
the heroine, Jacqueline "Jake" Cooper (Jennie Garth) despite her father's resistance to
Morgan's "newfangled" ranching methods. Jake is an estranged daughter who returns home
for a funeral to find that she is now needed at the family ranch.
He also co-starred in the ABC Family film I Want to Marry Ryan Banks with Jason Priestley,
and appeared as a regular guest star in the WB series Jack & Bobby. He played the popular
villain Sack Lodge in the hit comedy Wedding Crashers and appeared in the film Failure
to Launch as a friend of Demo (Matthew McConaughey). Cooper played the lead role in the Fox sitcom
Kitchen Confidential, based on a memoir by chef Anthony Bourdain, which debuted in September
2005. Despite positive reviews for the series, Fox canceled it after four episodes.
In March 2006, Cooper starred in Three Days of Rain on Broadway with Julia Roberts and
Paul Rudd at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater. He also appeared on stage as Jake in the 2008
production of Theresa Rebeck's play The Understudy at the Williamstown Theatre Festival alongside
Kristen Johnston. In 2007, Cooper starred in Season 5 of Nip/Tuck
as Aidan Stone, a television star on the fictional show Hearts 'N Scalpels. He also starred in
Yes Man with Jim Carrey and in The Rocker with Rainn Wilson in 2008. On February 7,
2009, Cooper hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guest TV on the Radio. He impersonated
Christian Bale in a fake commercial for a DVD featuring celebrities yelling at movie
crew members called, "No, Bruce! Let Me Finish! The Best of Celebrity Tirades." In 2009, Cooper
starred in the films He's Just Not That Into You, Case 39 and The Hangover which was a
financial success and opened first at the box office in the United States and grossed
over $467 million worldwide from a production budget of $35 million. In October 2009, Cooper
received the Hollywood Comedy Award at the 13th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood
Awards. The success of The Hangover led to new opportunities for Cooper, but in a 2011
interview with Shave Magazine, Cooper said: "It’s the same. I mean, look, more doors
have been opened for sure but it’s not like I sit back with a cigar on Monday morning
and go through the scripts that have been offered."
In 2010, Cooper appeared in two films, such as the ensemble romantic comedy Valentine's
Day, directed by Garry Marshall, which also starred Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Jessica
Biel, Anne Hathaway, Julia Roberts, and former Alias co-star Jennifer Garner, among others.
The film was a commercial success, grossing over $215 million worldwide. He then played
the role of Templeton "Faceman" Peck in the feature film version of The A-Team. He guest
co-hosted WWE Raw on June 7, 2010, along with his The A-Team co-stars Sharlto Copley and
Quinton Jackson. In 2011, Cooper starred in the techno-thriller Limitless, based on the
2001 novel The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn, and the comedy sequel The Hangover Part II,
which earned over $580 million at the worldwide box office. In September 2011, GQ UK presented
Cooper with the "International Man of the Year" award. On November 16, 2011, People
magazine named him Sexiest Man Alive. In 2012, he appeared in the drama The Words,
and David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook, an adaptation of Matthew Quick's serio-comic
novel, with Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence. In January 2012, plans were announced for
Cooper to reunite with Silver Linings Playbook co-star Jennifer Lawrence for the Susanne
Bier adaptation of Ron Rash's period novel Serena. He also starred in The Place Beyond
the Pines, as a police officer. In March 2012, Cooper and Warner Bros. entered into a two-year
first look deal for his production company 22 & Indiana Pictures.
In 2013, Cooper appeared in the third and final installment of The Hangover trilogy,
The Hangover Part III. On May 2, 2013, it was announced that Cooper will star in the
movie American Sniper, the story of U.S. sniper Chris Kyle that was to be directed by Steven
Spielberg, who was later replaced by Clint Eastwood. On August 30, 2013, it was announced
that Cooper will be providing the voice of Rocket Raccoon in the Marvel Studios film,
Guardians of the Galaxy. Additionally, he is starring in Cameron Crowe's untitled project.
Personal life Cooper married actress Jennifer Esposito in
late 2006. In May 2007, it was announced that Esposito had filed for divorce. He was in
a long term relationship with Renee Zellweger. Cooper does not drink alcohol and has abstained
since he was 29, saying that it would have "sabotaged" his life. He is a practicing Roman
Catholic. Cooper has been dating model Suki Waterhouse
since March 2013. Filmography
Theatre Awards and nominations