Bradley Cooper sheds tears over the ‘absence’ of Leonard Bernstein in emotional interview: ‘It’s difficult to discuss!’

Bradley Cooper was roasted by fans after bursting into tears over ‘missing’ late Maestro composer Leonard Bernstein – despite never meeting him.

The acclaimed actor, 49, who is nominated in the Best Actor Oscar category for his portrayal of Bernstein, broke down in tears as he spoke during a resurfaced December interview with CBS Sunday Morning – surrounded by the composer’s children.

Bernstein died aged 72 in 1990 when Cooper was just 15 and an aspiring actor – but The Hangover star said he felt the composer’s ‘energy’ during Maestro filming.

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When asked if he missed Bernstein, Cooper teared up as he said: ‘Oh, yeah. It’s hard to talk about.

‘I don’t know. We shared something very special, the four of us [referring to Bernstein’s children Jamie, Nina and Alexander] It’s hard to even articulate, but he was with me, certainly, throughout the entire time.

Bradley Cooper was roasted by fans after bursting into tears over ‘missing’ late Maestro composer Leonard Bernstein – despite never meeting him

The acclaimed actor, 49, who is nominated in the Best Actor Oscar category for his portrayal of Bernstein , broke down in tears as he spoke during a resurfaced December interview with CBS Sunday Morning – surrounded by the composer’s children

Bernstein died aged 72 in 1990 when Cooper was just 15 and an aspiring actor – but The Hangover star said he felt the composer’s ‘energy’ during Maestro filming

‘His energy has somehow found its way to me and I really do feel like I know him.’

Fans on TikTok quickly slated the star for his emotional reaction, with one writing: ‘Bradley Cooper is an idiot even [Bernstein’s] kids didn’t get that emotional.’

Another typed: ‘Bradley Cooper was 15 years old when this man died, he doesn’t miss or know s**t’ while a third quipped: ‘This is his best performance!’

Another penned: ‘Austen [sic] Butler and his Elvis voice. Bradley and this weirdo s–t. These actors and their god complexes’ while one fan wrote: ‘This is actually embarrassing Maestro is such an obvious Oscar bait.’

Others defended Cooper saying: ‘He literally studied the man for 3 years. Practiced his role day in and day out. No doubt it’s become a part of him.’

Last year Bradley revealed he spent six years how to compose music for Maestro.

He revealed to moderator Lin-Manuel Miranda during a New York City tastemaker screening that he spent six years to learn composing… for a six-minute scene. 

The scene in question was capturing Bernstein’s iconic performance conducting the 1976 London Symphony Orchestra in Ely Cathedral, which ‘terrified’ Cooper.

When asked if he missed Bernstein, Cooper teared up as he said: ‘Oh, yeah. It’s hard to talk about. ‘I don’t know. We shared something very special, the four of us [referring to Bernstein’s children Jamie, Nina and Alexander]

He added: ‘His energy has somehow found its way to me and I really do feel like I know him’

 The real Leonard Bernstein and wife Felicia Montealegre, played by Carey Mulligan in Maestro are pictured in 1959

Bradley does not shy away from fully immersing himself in his characters, revealing he spent six years how to compose music for Maestro

‘That scene I was so worried about because we did it live. That was the London Symphony Orchestra. I was recorded live, I had to conduct them,’ Cooper said.

‘And I spent six years learning how to conduct six minutes and 21 seconds of music,’ he admitted, while crediting his ‘wonderful teachers’ for all their help along the way.

‘I was able to get the raw take where I just watched Leonard Bernstein [conduct] at Ely Cathedral with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1976,’ Cooper said. 

‘And so I had that to study. And Yannick Nézet-Séguin made videos with all the tempo changes, so I had all of the materials to just work on,’ he continued.

‘It was really about dialing exactly what I wanted cinematically and theninviting them into then inhabit that space and trusting that they have all done the work,’ Cooper added. 

‘Because I think that I knew, I was terrified, absolutely terrified that if I hadn’t done the work that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself in these scenes. And everybody did,’ he said.

The film has picked up seven Oscar nominations including Best Actor, Actress for Carey Mulligan and Best Picture.