Bradley Cooper has remained one of the best actors that the industry has had to offer for most of his career. However, Cooper is now expanding his wings to the realm of direction, and The Hangover star’s most recent project was Maestro.
Apart from directing the film, Cooper is also the primary lead. The movie is based on the life of the legendary music conductor-composer, Leonard Bernstein. Cooper has done a tremendous job of bringing some key aspects of Bernstein’s life to the fore for the general public.
Bradley Cooper Takes Home the Best Actor For Maestro at the 2023 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards
Bradley Cooper evidently did a lot of preparation to depict Leonard Bernstein in the 2023 movie. It reportedly used to take Cooper almost five hours to put on the makeup for his role. Cooper not only had to ensure that the film was going in the right direction, but also had to deliver as the lead actor.
Well, the actor/director did a commendable job, which was proven after he won the award for Best Actor at the 2023 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.
Bradley Cooper wins Best Actor for ‘MAESTRO’ at the 2023 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards. pic.twitter.com/57MiCnkqTm
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) December 13, 2023
While there is no doubt that Cooper was phenomenal in his portrayal of Leonard Bernstein, there were some factions of the crowd who believed that Cillian Murphy should have won the honor for his role as Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer.
Of course, Murphy has a real shot at winning the Best Actor award at the 2024 Oscars. Keeping that in mind, Murphy’s fandom will get a good night’s sleep.
On the other hand, fans should appreciate Cooper’s performance in the film. As of now, the movie has a solid 7.3/10 rating on IMDb and attained a certified rating of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The movie has undoubtedly received some well-earned love from the audience since its release. Cooper was also nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Sierra Awards. While the 48-year-old failed to take home the former, he did win the latter, shared with Josh Singer.
What is Maestro About?
As we mentioned earlier, the movie focuses on the life of music composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein. However, instead of focusing on Bernstein’s life as a musician, the film focuses on his love affair with actress Felicia Montealegre Bernstein.
The role of Montealegre went to Carey Mulligan who was also lauded for her portrayal. While Mulligan was initially skeptical about her casting, it was none other than Bradley Cooper who instilled a lot of confidence in the actor about her acting skills.
Following a short theatrical run, Maestro will soon make its way to none other than streaming giant Netflix. To be precise, the film is expected to be available on Netflix on December 20, 2023.
