Bradley Cooper’s wild interview with Leonard Bernstein’s children raises eyebrows

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Bradley Cooper has been mocked by followers following an interview during which he turned visibly emotional over how a lot he “misses” Leonard Bernstein – regardless of by no means having met him.

The actor and director stars as American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein within the 2023 biopic, Maestro.

Described as “a love letter to life and art”, Maestro depicts the decades-long relationship between Bernstein and his spouse, Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Carey Mulligan).

The interview with Leonard Bernstein’s children, Jamie, Nina and Alexander has raised eyebrows after a clip went viral on social media.

The unique interview aired on CBS in November final yr, however has gone viral after Cooper’s feedback resurfaced.

When requested if he misses his on-screen alter-ego (Bernstein), Cooper turns into visibly upset, and replies “Oh yeah, man.”

“It’s hard to talk about,” he tells the Bernstein children. “I don’t know, we, the four of us [Cooper and Bernstein’s three children], shared something very special, it’s hard to even articulate.”

The interview clip cuts between Cooper and Bernstein’s children, who watch the actor tear up whereas speaking about their late father.

“He was with me, certainly, throughout the entire time. His energy has somehow found its way to me, and I really do feel like I know him,” Bradley added.

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Bradley has by no means met Leonard Bernstein, who died in 1990, aged 72. This has triggered followers to reply with confusion over his emotional response to the questions.

“That’s actually an insane thing to say,” a TikTok person wrote.

“Doing that in front of his kids is CRAZY,” one other person stated.

“If we give him an Oscar will he stop doing this kind of thing?” one remark requested.

Cooper has beforehand revealed he directed the biopic in the late conductor’s voice after being impressed by Christian Bale’s technique in 2013’s American Hustle.

The film additionally sparked controversy earlier than its launch as Cooper was criticised carrying a prosthetic nostril “to amplify his resemblance” to Bernstein.

“But it’s all about balance, and, you know, my lips are nothing like Lenny’s, and my chin. And so we had that, and it just didn’t look right [without the prosthetic],” he stated in response to the criticism.

The movie has been met with essential acclaim. It has acquired seven Academy Award nominations, together with Best Picture, Best Actor (Cooper), and Best Actress (Mulligan), in addition to nominations for seven BAFTA Awards, 4 Golden Globe Awards.

“Cooper’s Bernstein film is nicely affectionate – fake nose and all,” The Independent’s Geoffrey Macnab wrote in his four-star assessment. “Cooper is effortlessly charming in a film that’s been making headlines for all the wrong reasons, and his co-star Carey Mulligan is magnificent.”