Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and producer. He first gained recognition in the television shows Alias and Jack & Bobby. He later appeared in Wedding Crashers (2005), Yes Man (2008) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009). He achieved fame with his role in The Hangover trilogy (2009–2013), later starring in The A-Team (2010), Limitless (2011), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2013), and American Hustle (2013), and provided the voice of Rocket Raccoon in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). His work in Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively. In 2011, People magazine named him the "Sexiest Man Alive".

Early life

Cooper was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in nearby Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. His mother, Gloria (née Campano), is of Italian descent and worked for the local NBC affiliate. His father, Charles J. Cooper (died 2011, age 71), was of Irish descent, and worked as a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch. He has an older sister named Holly. Cooper was raised Catholic. While attending Germantown Academy, Cooper worked at the Philadelphia Daily News.

After graduating from Germantown Academy in 1993, Cooper attended Villanova University for his first year, then transferred to Georgetown University, from which he graduated with honors with a BA in English in 1997. Cooper became fluent in French at Georgetown and spent six months as an exchange student in Aix-en-Provence, France. Later in 2000, he received an MFA in acting from Actors Studio Drama School at The New School (now the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University) in New York City. While he was studying at The New School, Cooper worked as a doorman at the Morgans Hotel.

Career

Cooper began his professional acting career with a small guest role in one episode of the television show Sex and the City in 1999 and served as a presenter in the travel-adventure series Globe Trekker. After his 2001 film debut in Wet Hot American Summer, Cooper landed the role of Will Tippin in the successful television drama Alias, and acted in the 2002 psychological thriller Changing Lanes. The scenes in which he appeared were edited out of final cut of the film, but are featured on the film's DVD and Blu-ray releases. After leaving Alias in 2003, Cooper guest-starred on the short-lived TV series Miss Match, and later returned twice to Alias to reprise his role in guest appearances.

In 2009, Cooper starred in the films He's Just Not That into You, Case 39 and The Hangover which was a financial success and opened first at the box office in the United States and grossed over $467 million worldwide from a production budget of $35 million. In October 2009, Cooper received the Hollywood Comedy Award at the 13th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards. The success of The Hangover led to new opportunities for Cooper.

In 2010, Cooper appeared in the ensemble romantic comedy Valentine's Day, directed by Garry Marshall, which also starred Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Julia Roberts, and former Alias co-star Jennifer Garner, among others. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $215 million worldwide.  In 2011, Cooper starred in the techno-thriller Limitless, based on the 2001 novel The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn, and the comedy sequel The Hangover Part II, which earned over $580 million at the worldwide box office.

In September 2011, GQ UK presented Cooper with the "International Man of the Year" award.  On November 16, 2011, People magazine named him Sexiest Man Alive.

Personal life

Cooper married actress Jennifer Esposito in late 2006. In May 2007, it was announced that Esposito had filed for divorce. Cooper was in a relationship with Renée Zellweger from 2009 to 2011. He dated Zoe Saldana from December 2011 to January 2013. He has been dating model Suki Waterhouse since March 2013.

[ Wikipedia / CC-BY-SA ]

Read More