Bradley Cooper has made his comeback on the big screen with his new project, Maestro. While the project took ample time to finally get a release, many would be shocked to know that the former trained for six years to meticulously perform a specific scene.
Cooper plays the role of Leonard Bernstein in the movie which revolves around Bernstein’s professional career and his relationship with his wife Felicia Montealegre (played by Carey Mulligan). During a conversation with Lin-Manuel Miranda at a Los Angeles screening of the film, he talked about his long-term preparation for over a six-minute sequence.
Bradley Cooper Spent 6 Years to Train for a Maestro Scene
In the event, Bradley Cooper revealed spending six years learning to conduct for a 6 Minutes 21 Seconds sequence so that he could recreate a musical scene live on the set of Maestro. The scene in the subject refers to Leonard Bernstein conducting the 1976 London Symphony Orchestra at the Ely Cathedral.
Talking about that scene, Cooper mentioned via IndieWire,
“That scene I was so worried about because we did it live. That was the London Symphony Orchestra. I was recorded live, I had to conduct them. And I spent six years learning how to conduct six minutes and 21 seconds of music.”
He further added,
“I was able to get the raw take where I just watched Leonard Bernstein [conduct] at Ely Cathedral with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1976. And so I had that to study.”
He also took help from the Metropolitan Opera director and his conducting coach, Yannick Nézet-Séguin who fine-tuned the performance.
Bradley Cooper Completely Engrossed Himself for the Particular Scene
The 48-year-old actor further added how he wanted the long scene to be something that he could completely enjoy. In the same interview, he stated,
“It was really about dialing exactly what I wanted cinematically and then inviting them into then inhabit that space and trusting that they have all done the work. Because I think that I knew, I was terrified, absolutely terrified that if I hadn’t done the work that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself in these scenes. And everybody did.”
Meanwhile, his conducting coach praised the actor for his efforts. He stated via The Hollywood Reporter,
“He was the first conductor on the podium who allowed himself to completely embody the music and not just be this taskmaster with a stick in one hand, directing traffic,” adding, “He lived the music in every part of body. His eyebrows were conducting just as much as his hands.”
His efforts surely gave great results as the movie received positive reviews from critics. The American Film Institute even named it among the 10 films of 2023. The movie is now streaming on Netflix.
