Bradley Cooper revealed he was a cocaine and alcohol addict before he found fame with ‘The Hangover‘. The actor sat down for ‘Smartless’ podcast with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett. On the same, he talked about his lowest moments.
Cooper candidly spoke about the time in his life which led to his downfall. Can you imagine the star struggling to get acting jobs after graduating from acting school and then feeling lonely and depressed? Well, that was the reality, and so was his drug and alcohol addiction.
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Bradley Cooper Suffered From “Depression” And “Self-Esteem Issues”
It all began when Bradley started getting some acting gigs after graduating from the Actors Studio Drama School at The New School in New York City. He explained on the podcast: “I thought I made it when I got a Wendy’s commercial, and I called my dad saying I’m in a hotel that has a window that opens. In terms of the made-it thing, that’s when I made it.”
He added, “But moving to Los Angeles for Alias, [I was] feeling like I was back in high school: I could not get into any clubs, no girls wanted to look at me.”
The BAFTA award winner talked about the bright lights and big-city atmosphere of Los Angeles. The brutally competitive industry resulted in the actor suffering from self-esteem issues. “I was totally depressed,” he said. But, the silver lining of the whole ordeal, according to the actor, was that it happened before he was properly famous.
“It wasn’t really until ‘The Hangover’. I was 36 when I did ‘The Hangover’, so I got to go through all those things before fame even played into my existence on a daily level,” he said. “So all that happened before any of that.”
Cooper Credits Longtime Pal Will Arnett For “Changing His Life”
‘The Hangover’ came out in 2009 and the star realized he was on a path to destruction half a decade earlier. It was back in 2004 when Will Arnett went over to Bradley’s home to see if he was okay. Will realized Cooper hadn’t taken his dogs out all day and was worried about his mental state.
“That was the first time I ever realised I had a problem with drugs and alcohol,” Cooper said. “It was Will saying that to me, I’ll never forget it… It changed my entire life.”
He continued, “I definitely made major breakthroughs 29 to 32, 33, 34 where I was at least able to stand in front of someone and breathe and listen and talk. Will is the reason, he took that risk of having that hard conversation with me in July of 2004, that put me on a path of deciding to change my life.”
Will congratulated Cooper on becoming a leading man in Hollywood. “You went through this metamorphosis before ‘The Hangover,'” he said on the podcast. “Having those realizations and having that change allowed you to — that’s what opened you up and allowed you to be you.”
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