lifestyle WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015 Music & Movies Bradley Cooper on ‘American Sniper,’ packing on 40 pounds and turning 40 ven if “American Sniper” missed out on Golden Globe nominations, of my favorite films, dealing with the psychology of that character. Jason Midnight Meat Train,” with Ryuhei Kitamura, and was very collaborative in it still emerged as one of the big winners of the holiday season. Hall came with me with this story. I saw it right away as a war movie but the editing room with him. Todd Phillips was like that too with “The EClint Eastwood’s drama about Navy SEAL Chris Kyle has grossed a told as a Western. But everything changed when Chris died and Steven Hangover.” By the time we got to “Limitless,” Ryan Kavanaugh at Relativity stellar $2.2 million since it opened in only four theaters on Christmas, and Spielberg came in and said, “We need to make this movie now.” That’s encouraged me to be part of it in the post-production process, and I the Warner Bros release expands on Jan 16. The Oscar lead actor race is when I fell in love with the guy. It was an incredible experience-the inves- became an executive producer. If a director is open to me helping him or especially overcrowded this year, but as ballots are due on Thursday, vot- tigative process of trying to get inside a human being’s mind and emo- her tell the story, I’ll be there as much as they want. I’m lucky that David ers should take a look-if they haven’t already-at Bradley Cooper’s career- tions. O. Russell enveloped me with both arms and made me his partner. And best performance. It’s a transformation that had Kyle’s widow, Taya, in Clint was the same way. tears the first time she saw the film, and she’s been talking about how Q: Did you and Clint Eastwood talk about framing it as a Western? Cooper captured her husband’s essence. In the last few weeks, many Cooper: Oh yeah. I constantly talked about “Unforgiven.” When Chris actors, including Ben Affleck, Jane Fonda, Julia Roberts and Jonah Hill, says to his son, “It’s a heck of a thing to stop a beating heart,” it was really have also been singing Cooper’s praises. right out of “Unforgiven,” when Will Munny says, “It’s a hell of a thing, To play Kyle, Cooper spent six months working out 4.5 hours a day, killing a man.” At the end of “Unforgiven,” when he goes down to get his but the role went beyond the physical. He practiced a Texas drawl with a friend Ned, there’s this storm outside. In terms of Chris’ last tour, we did dialect coach, learned how to shoot three military sniper rifles and spent this desert storm. He’s almost Will Munny 20 years prior to “Unforgiven.” time with Kyle’s family and friends, who gave him access to his emails and home videos. Cooper, who turns 40 on Monday, had a strong 2014. Q: How much time do you spend in the gym preparing for the He picked up a second consecutive Oscar nomination for “American role? Hustle,” performed the voice of Rocket Raccoon in “The Guardians of the Cooper: In the actual gym? Probably 4 hours a day. Galaxy” and is now on Broadway in “The Elephant Man.” He spoke to Variety over the weekend. Q: Was it similar to your workout for “The A-Team”? Cooper: That was totally different. That was cardiovascular and high Q: “American Sniper” is doing really well in only four theaters. Are reps for bodybuilding. This was weightlifting. There was no cardio. There you surprised by the film’s success? was no toning of muscles. It was just get strong. Bradley Cooper: I’m always surprised when things do well, because you can never bank on that. We were just hoping that awareness was Q: And when you see yourself onscreen? going to be enough for people to see it on Christmas. It was such a com- Cooper : My main thing, after each take, the only thing I would ask petitive market that day-with “Into the Woods,” “Unbroken” and “The anybody, “Hey man, am I too big?” When I watched the first cut of the Hobbit.” We were happy that people came out in droves for “American film, I was so monstrous, I thought any more pounds, it would have been Sniper.” And then the A-plus Cinemascore. I didn’t even know they had farcical. that. Q: Did you feel like you got it right as you were shooting? Q: Actors have been reaching out to you. Cooper: I knew it was working. I felt him. I felt like I had successfully Cooper: I’ve got to say that’s been the most amazing thing. I just entered the world of his, so I would be able to tell the story. If you do all heard from Ed Helms and Jonah Hill. I don’t know Ashton Kutcher that the research, you let yourself be open. I had hours and hours of home well, but he made the effort to contact me to say how he felt about the videos, and all of their email exchanges, and even his workout playlist. I Q: How did your career change after your first Oscar nomination Bradley Cooper work and the movie. I’ve never experienced anything like that. It really basically had a dossier on this man’s life. And I had his children, his par- for “Silver Linings Playbook”? does make me feel like we’re a community and we’re all invested in each ents, his wife and the people who knew him. It was a huge amount of Cooper: You could probably tell me more than I could. I can’t tell you other’s work. information to be digested. Once that all happened, and then I got to the how many times people came up to me after “Sniper,” and said, “Hey man, size, and I felt comfortable in his voice, or my voice as him, and I got com- I didn’t know you could act.” I can’t concern myself with that, or I’ll go Q: You recently screened “American Sniper” at Fort Hamilton mili- fortable with the three sniper rifles that he used, then it was like, “OK, let’s crazy. tary base. What was that like? tell the story.” Cooper: We showed it to veterans. A few years ago, I had the opportu- Q: You’re now starring in “Elephant Man” on Broadway. How do nity to take “Silver Linings Playbook” to Walter Reed (National Military Q: What did you learn from the emails? you feel about your career as you’re about to turn 40? Medical Center). Without us even realizing it, Pat Solatano was a charac- Cooper: Just how fiery their relationship was-how much love there Cooper: I’m the most fulfilled I’ve ever been artistically. Nathan Lane ter that many young males and women could relate to coming back from was, how much lust there was. And how much their relationship is relat- has got it all figured it out. This lifestyle of doing it, being able to show up war. It was a really impactful film at Walter Reed. That was probably the able. How I could relate to it, and I think anybody who could read them and tell a story to 740 strangers every day and sometimes twice a day, best experience I’d ever had showing that movie. could relate to it. It just humanized him in a huge way. and you have the rest of your day free. It’s ideal, and in New York, it’s And so, when we were making “Sniper,” I thought if I could make a absolute heaven. movie that people could relate to in this field, I imagined showing it at Q: Your first producing credit was on 2011’s “Limitless.” Why did Walter Reed, which we’re going to do on Jan 13. We are also going to take you decide to go down that path? Q: Will you do another Broadway play? it to San Antonio, a hospital there, with Chris’ father and brother. That’s Cooper: I started way before. It was when I was doing “Alias.” I used to Cooper: I have to finish this one first. And then I think we’re going to when you really get to experience storytelling and the impact that it get everybody’s dailies. They were video cassettes. I would get back to take it to London for three months this summer. I’ll spend half the year could have. my little apartment that I was renting, a bottom floor of this woman’s doing theater. house in West Hollywood, and I would watch them all day long, and then Q: There have been a handful of movies about the Iraq War, I would go into the editing room. I would only work three days a week, Q: Are you going to do a “Guardians of the Galaxy” sequel? including “The Hurt Locker.” Why did you sign on to produce Chris’ and I was from the East Coast, and I was going to shoot myself living in Cooper: Hell yeah, if they’ll have me. — Reuters story? LA I was just so fascinated by the process of making this show. I did that Cooper: I love the character study. Growing up, “Unforgiven” was one for a year, basically.