Bradley Cooper has been mocked by movie fans after losing the Golden Globe for a role he spent six years preparing for.
The actor, 49, stars in, co-wrote, co-produced and directed Netflix’s Leonard Bernstein biopic, Maestro, and was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director and Best Actor.
Yet he walked away empty handed after Sunday’s ceremony, losing out on Best Actor to Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy, with the biographical thriller also winning Best Motion Picture and Best Director for Christopher Nolan.
He has yet to win a Golden Globe – despite nine nominations – but this loss no doubt came as a shock to the actor, who has been vocal about the gruelling process to make the movie – including spending six years learning how to conduct – and banning all chairs from set because ‘your energy dips the minute you sit down’.
With awards season officially in full swing, bookmakers have predicted that Cillian and Oppenheimer will remain his main competition for the Best Actor and Best Picture accolades, with movie fans quick to point out that Cillian’s six month preparation for Oppenheimer stood him in better stead than Bradley’s six years of toil.
But how did the actors prepare for the roles of a lifetime? We take a look at their very different approaches.
Bradley Cooper has been mocked by movie fans after losing the Golden Globe for Best Actor to Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy (right) after he spent six years preparing for his role in Maestro
How did Bradley Cooper prepare for Maestro?
Bradley’s work on Maestro began back in 2018 when he was attached to star as Bernstein in the project, with Steven Spielberg directing.
When Steven pulled out of the project to dedicate more time to his West Side Story remake, self-professed lifelong classical music fan Bradley refused to let the project drop, instead putting himself forward as the new director.
He convinced Steven to let him take over the role after showing him his directorial debut in A Star Is Born, with Maestro producer Kristie Macosko Krieger revealing that even on the promotional trail for his musical drama he couldn’t get Maestro off his mind and pitched her the idea then.
She told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘He was like, “Can I pitch you my idea for the opening of the film?” He pitched me, shot for shot, what we actually now see in a film in 2023.
‘He thought about the movie for six years, nonstop. I would hazard a guess to say that I’ve probably received 3,000 texts from him, easily, over the course of us making the movie.’
As well as ensuring he could do the movie justice with his directing, Bradley ensured he embodied the role of the famed American composer by spending six years learning how to compose… 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’ Bradley.
He confessed during a tastemaker screening: ‘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.
‘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 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.
Bradley completely transformed himself through the artful use of prosthetics and movie makeup into composer Leonard Bernstein for the biopic Maestro (right in 2022)
Bradley used method acting to get into the psyche of Leonard Bernstein (pictured)
‘It was really about dialing exactly what I wanted cinematically and then inviting them into then inhabit that space and trusting that they have all done the work.
‘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.’
Bradley also practised method acting for the role, even staying in character while directing scenes.
He explained that he has utilised method acting ever since starring alongside Christian Bale in 2018’s American Hustle, revealing: ‘I was playing Lenny throughout his life. I would spend three to six hours in the makeup trailer every day before the crew arrived.
‘It was hilarious, because on days when I was young Lenny, the energy of the set was faster, and we got more done. And then when I was old Lenny, it had a slower gear. If you ask the crew or cast, Lenny directed the movie.
He added The Hollywood Reporter: ‘I have hand signals with the sound mixer and the camera operator. I don’t call action. After everything’s set up, I’ll just start talking and bring the actors, and often they don’t know we’re rolling.
‘And then they’re like, “The scene’s over.” And they’re like, “Huh?” I’m [playing] Lenny Bernstein, so I’m not breaking in and out of character.’
When Steven pulled out of the project to dedicate more time to his West Side Story remake, self-professed lifelong classical music fan Bradley refused to let the project drop
How did Cillian Murphy prepare for Oppenheimer?
In comparison to Bradley’s six years of practise, Cillian had just six months to prepare for his role as American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.
The Irish actor admitted that he got a call from director Christopher Nolan ‘out of the blue’ about the role.
He told Collider: ‘I can’t think of any better word than it’s a dream. It sounds like such a cliché, but it’s the truth. But I had no idea he was going to call me. He just called me out of the blue. That’s his MO; you never hear from him and then he calls.
‘So he called me, and I genuinely didn’t know what it would be, and then he said, “I’m making this movie about Oppenheimer and I would like you to play Oppenheimer.” It’s a big shock, and a very pleasant one, but then you kind of go, “Okay, now I have a lot of work to do.”‘
Cillian added that that while his typical process of stepping into the shoes of a historical figure ‘would have taken more time,’ but admitted that ‘six months was good’ because they ‘just went straight at it’ the moment the call ended.
Revealing how he immersed himself in the role, Cillian told The Guardian: ‘[I prepped by doing] an awful lot of reading.
I’m interested in the man and what [inventing the atomic bomb] does to the individual. The mechanics of it, that’s not really for me — I don’t have the intellectual capability to understand them, but these contradictory characters are fascinating.’
He also studied the Bhagavad Gita, a 700-verse Hindu religious text that Oppenheimer would quote from; smoked fake cigarettes (the physicist died of throat cancer in 1967); and skipped meals in order to portray Oppenheimer’s gaunt frame.
In comparison to Bradley’s six years of practise, Cillian had just six months to prepare for his role as American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (right in 2017)
Cillian said that ‘six months was good’ because they ‘just went straight at it’ the moment the call ended (pictured: physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer)
Cillian’s co-star Emily Blunt, who plays Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty, told People that the actor skipped cast dinners because of the ‘monumental’ weight on his shoulders, with Cillian confessing: ‘I didn’t go out much. I didn’t socialize much, mainly because of the amount of work I had to do…. I became so immersed in the role.’
Emily also spoke about Cillian’s drastic transformation, telling how he only survived off an ‘almond a day’ in his gruelling diet and saying ‘he was so emaciated.’
Cillian warned that his transformation wasn’t ‘healthy’.
Speaking to the New York Times, the star confessed that he ‘loved’ the physicality of preparing for the role, telling how he wanted to lose weight to give Oppenheimer a ‘wide-eyed look’ to covey the fact that he ‘never ate’.
He said: ‘I love acting with my body, and Oppenheimer had a very distinct physicality and silhouette, which I wanted to get right.
‘I had to lose quite a bit of weight, and we worked with the costume and tailoring; he was very slim, almost emaciated, existed on martinis and cigarettes.
‘He had these really bright eyes and I wanted to give him this wide-eyed look, so we worked on his silhouette and expressions a lot before starting.’
Cillian confessed that he ‘loved’ the physicality of preparing for the role, telling how he wanted to lose weight to give Oppenheimer a ‘wide-eyed look’ to covey the fact that he ‘never ate’
Who is predicted to win the next award?
There are still several big ceremonies before the Academy Awards concludes the season in March.
On Sunday, Hollywood’s finest will gather for the Critics’ Choice Awards, which is renowned as one of the best barometers for predicting the Oscars.
According to Gold Derby, it could be a good night for Bradley, as they predict he will win Best Actor with odds of 7/2, while Cillian is a close second at 19/5.
However, he’s out of the running for Best Director at 13/2 in comparison to frontrunner Christopher Nolan’s 16/5.
Maestro is also an outsider for Best Picture at 10/1, with Oppenheimer the favourite at 6/1.
Up next is the BAFTAs on February 18, with the shortlist of nominations set to be announced next Thursday.
Using the longlist for their odds, Gold Derby have predicted Oppenheimer will win Best Picture and Best Director for Christopher at 10/3
In comparison, Maestro is a complete outsider at 100/1 for both.
The odds shorten for Best Actor, but Cillian just pips Bradley to it at odds of 69/20 compared to the American’s 4/1.
Nominations for the SAG Awards will be announced on Wednesday with The 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will take place on February 24.
Finally, the nominations for the Academy Awards will be revealed on January 23, with the ceremony taking place on March 12.
What are the fans saying?
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, to share their reactions to Bradley’s Golden Globes loss, movie fans have been quick to predict that he is in for another series of blows this awards season.
They were also quick to compare the difference in acting styles between the leading men and that the length of time preparing for their roles seemingly had no impact on their awards success.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, to share their reactions to Bradley’s Golden Globes loss, movie fans have been quick to predict that he is in for another series of blows this awards season
