Bradley Cooper has opened up about his conflict with a director, claiming he will "never f***ing forget" what he said about his Oscars nominations.
The 47-year-old Hangover actor recently revealed on the SmartLess podcast that he still doesn’t feel like he’s respected in Hollywood, IndieWire reported.
He told hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes that a director mocked him for having several Academy Award nominations - including for Best Picture - for his directorial debut film, A Star Is Born.
Four years ago, at a party thrown by talent agency CAA, Cooper says he was socializing with an actress and a filmmaker when the latter said: "What world are we living in where you have seven nominations and she’s only got three?"
Cooper recalled thinking to himself at the time, "I’m like, ‘Bro, why are you such an ***hole?’ I would never f***ing forget that. Go f*** yourself."
The father-of-one also disclosed that the incident with the director wasn’t the first time he was treated like an impostor among the Hollywood elite.
Cooper recalled that in 2011, after landing his first nomination for Best Actor in Silver Linings Playbook - finding himself competing against the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix, and Denzel Washington - he was subjected to more negative comments.
The nine-time Oscars nominee said that a "hero female actress" whom he didn’t know at all approached him to give her patronizing seal of approval.
"She’s like, 'I saw your movie. You deserve the nom,'" he said. "I was like, ‘What? I’m sorry, what?’ 'The nom.'
"Then, like 10 or 20 minutes later — I’m not kidding — I passed her going to the bathroom and she mouths it, 'The nom.' I remember [thinking], ‘What the f*** is this town?’ Can you imagine saying that to somebody? You’ve got to be f***ed up to do that."
Following those encounters, the Serena star admitted that he had "zero self-esteem", and felt "worthless" and "insecure" as an actor early on in his film career.
His follow-up directorial project, Maestro, has been four and a half years in the making. The film will document the life of the West Side Story conductor Leonard Bernstein.
"There’s the movie; a movie about marriage, a movie about family. That’s it," Cooper explained about Maestro. "Why is it nuclear? Because it’s this f***ing music. Music is nuclear."
He added: "I had a secret weapon in ‘A Star is Born.’ It was Lady Gaga. The secret weapon I have in this movie is f***ing Leonard Bernstein and Gustav Mahler. The music!"
