Bradley Cooper American Actor Known for American Hustle

Bradley Cooper is an American actor, director, writer and producer. He was born Bradley Charles Cooper on 5 January 1975 in the Philadelphia area. He first became widely known in comedies, then built a second career as a dramatic actor and as a filmmaker.

Early life

Cooper grew up in the suburbs north of Philadelphia and attended Germantown Academy, finishing school in 1993. He spent a year at Villanova University before transferring to Georgetown University, where he studied English, minored in French and graduated in 1997. During his time there he spent a term abroad in France. He then entered the acting programme of the Actors Studio Drama School at The New School in New York, earning a Master of Fine Arts in 2000.

Career

Cooper's earliest screen work was in television. He had a guest part in Sex and the City and later became a regular in the spy series Alias, where he played the journalist Will Tippin from 2001 to 2006. His first feature film was the camp comedy Wet Hot American Summer (2001), and he followed it with supporting roles in films such as Wedding Crashers (2005) and Failure to Launch (2006).

The Hangover (2009) made him a lead actor in comedy, and he returned for two sequels in 2011 and 2013. Around the same time he took on more varied parts, among them the thriller Limitless (2011) and The A-Team (2010). Silver Linings Playbook (2012) cast him as Pat Solitano, and he followed it with American Hustle (2013), in which he played Richie DiMaso, and Joy (2015). In American Sniper (2014) he played Chris Kyle.

Since 2014 he has also voiced the raccoon character Rocket in Marvel Studios films, starting with Guardians of the Galaxy and continuing through Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). On stage, he played Joseph Merrick in a Broadway revival of The Elephant Man.

Cooper made his debut as a director with A Star Is Born (2018), which he also co-wrote and acted in. He directed and wrote Maestro (2023), in which he also appeared, and directed Is This Thing On? (2025). He has produced films including Joker (2019) and Nightmare Alley (2021), where he was also an actor. Soundtrack albums for A Star Is Born and Maestro carry his name, as does the single "Shallow" from the first.

Recognition

Cooper has received twelve Academy Award nominations. As an actor he was nominated for Silver Linings Playbook, American Sniper, A Star Is Born and Maestro, and as a supporting actor for American Hustle. He was nominated for Best Picture as a producer for American Sniper, A Star Is Born, Joker, Nightmare Alley and Maestro. He also received screenplay nominations for A Star Is Born (adapted) and Maestro (original).

His wins include a BAFTA Award and Grammy Awards for the music connected to A Star Is Born, along with an Indiana Film Journalists Association award for best actor in 2012 and recognition from the National Society of Film Critics. Together with his co-stars he has received an Actor Award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for The Elephant Man. His recorded totals are six wins and thirteen nominations.

Personal life

Cooper married the actress Jennifer Esposito in 2006, and the marriage ended in divorce in 2007. He has one child.