Bradley Cooper on His Start, Rejection and Subsequent Success as an Actor

In recent years, Bradley Cooper has become one of Hollywood’s most successful leading men. Despite this, there was a time when not getting work was a normal part of life for Cooper. Scott Huver with NBC 4 New York reported on Cooper’s start in the industry, rejection, and subsequent success as an actor.

For many actors, auditioning, with no results, is a standard part of starting an acting career. In the beginning, it was no different for Cooper. “When I first started auditioning, I didn’t realize – and I’m not even kidding – that you actually could book a job. I remember like after a week, I was hanging out with my friends and yeah, I got a couple callbacks. That was a very successful weekend because I always had another job.”

Despite being satisfied with callbacks, Cooper explained that actually booking a job was a scary process. “I still remember [when] I booked ‘Sex in the City,’ I was very frightened because I had to actually DO the job. I didn’t really understand that concept. Believe me: ‘It’s not a videotape and this is a room where I actually have to be like on the street – What do you mean? With Sarah Jessica Parker? Are you Kidding?’ So I came at it from another side where rejection was normal and getting [the job] was odd.”

However, Cooper does not take his recent success lightly. “I remember being in school and Meryl Streep came to our school and said that the easiest thing is to do your first good movie but then to do your second, that’s the hardest… You know, I don’t really look at it that way … It’s not that this has to land and this has to land. I don’t want to act or create in a bubble. I care very much about how things are received and want them to be enjoyed, but I don’t see anything bringing more pressure than not.”

Cooper described his goals as an actor to always be in the very art of acting, itself. “It depends, I guess, where your goal is and if your goal is to just grow as an actor, then everything [is] an opportunity, so that’s how I look at it. Everything [is] an opportunity.”