Blog 3 - Bradley Cooper

            The actor I chose to write about is Bradley Cooper. He is one of my favorite actors because I am a fan of the movies he’s starred in. I also think he is very talented because he has played many diverse roles, which makes him stand out from the rest of the actors. The interview I’m writing about took place a few months ago in December for a recognized YouTube channel called DP/30 and it was about his most recent movie, American Sniper. Based on the interview, I believe that Cooper wants to be portrayed as a committed actor who works hard to give the best performance. This can be supported by the part of the interview where he talks about how he felt overwhelmed because the real sniper, Chris Kyle, was a very intimidating man in real life. Kyle was very big and since the movie was filmed with some of the real life Seals, who knew Kyle, Cooper though he wasn’t living up to his character. He then decided he was going to get in shape for the movie and when he mentioned it to the director, Clint Eastwood, he was told that it wasn’t necessary. However, Cooper really felt like he had to do it in order to give a more credible performance and live up to the expectative that the people who knew Kyle had. This let us know that he is very committed in what he does, in order to give the best performance and move people with them.

            I also believe that Cooper wants to be portrayed as someone who has grown and matured as a person and actor from his previous movies and experiences. This can be supported in the interview in a few parts. First, when the interviewer brings up the argument that people have labeled him as the “handsome guy” and that it is reflected in the roles that he is offered. However, Cooper contradicts this argument by letting the interviewer know that he has portrayed a diversity of roles that deviate from the typical “handsome guy” and that it is something that has never limited him in the type of roles he’s been offered. He wants to let everyone know that he has grown from roles like The Hangover and is now taking more serious roles that have broken the mold that everyone had of him in the past. This is also supported in the part where Cooper talks about how he now wants to start being a part of the editing team in the movies he is working in, like he recently did. This shows us that he has realized that the majority of the work that is made in a movie is not in the acting, but in the editing of a movie and he wants to be a part of it. Editing is a serious job because it takes time and it’s all behind the scenes so this shows us that Cooper doesn’t only care about being on screen but also helping make the movie as a whole better.

            Before this interview I thought that Cooper was like many other actors and actresses who treat movies as a job. However, he lets us know in the interview that he acts in order to give a message and that’s why he takes roles in movies where he has a point of view and wants to convey it through it. In addition to that, he is ready to give an extra mile, like he did in American Sniper, to make the movie better even when he is not asked to do it and that lets me know that he is doing his job because he enjoys it and he wants to send a message to the people. The interviewer helps me to shape this perception because he continually asks Cooper why he put so much effort into the movie and this makes him explain why he acts and what he’s trying to get across with his job and the movies he stars in. The main take-away from the interview for me is that Cooper wants to let everyone know how much he worked on the movie American Sniper and the weight that he felt while filming it because he was a real guy and he had to fill the expectative of Kyle’s family, friends and the rest of the viewers.