Bradley Cooper is an extremely versatile actor who has featured in a plethora of movies throughout his amazing acting career. Sure, Cooper’s breakout role was as Todd Phillips in The Hangover franchise.
But he truly reached his full potential as an actor after playing Pat Solitano in David O. Russell’s 2012 film Silver Linings Playbook. Cooper was simply sensational in the movie as he earned his first Best Actor nomination for the Academy Awards following the role.
David O. Russell Cast Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook For One Unique Reason
Over the course of his career, Cooper has featured in many roles, but his depiction of Sack Lodge in Wedding Crashers. In fact, in an interview with IndieWire, David O. Russell credited Cooper’s role in Wedding Crashers for casting him as Pat Solitano in Silver Linings Playbook.
I knew when I met Bradley after Wedding Crashers, he seemed like a palpably angry person to me. A scary angry person. So I knew that was good for Silver Linings Playbook, because it wasn’t fake, it wasn’t nice, it was just intense. Then when I met him I asked him about that. His answer told me that he could do this role because his answer was very self-revealing.
Following Wedding Crashers, Bradley Cooper built a reputation for being an angry person. In fact, it took fans a couple of years before they accepted him as a nice person. Of course, the release of The Hangover played a crucial role in clearing the stain of an angry person off Cooper.
Bradley Cooper Was Unhappy When He Filmed Wedding Crashers
Playing a jerk is not as easy as it may sound. An actor needs to make the audience feel genuine hate for his character during a movie or TV show. Bradley Cooper did a perfect job of convincing fans of it.
In the same interview with IndieWire, David O. Russell explained what Cooper told him about his portrayal of Sack Lodge in Wedding Crashers.
His answer was that he had been unhappy at the time when he made Wedding Crashers. His life was not as fulfilled. He was 30 to 40 lbs. heavier like the character in the movie, he was hiding behind it, but really he was scared.
In the end, Russell mentioned that Cooper is nothing if not an open and emotional guy. Thanks to that, Bradley Cooper gave one of the best performances of his acting career in Silver Linings Playbook.
It’s no surprise that Cooper earned his first career Best Actor nomination at the Oscars. Unfortunately, Cooper couldn’t win the award, but the audience will forever remember his performance in the movie.
