Christian Bale’s Superhuman Skill Inspired Bradley Cooper to Do the Same With ‘Maestro’: “I couldn’t figure out how someone could do that”
Acting is all about embodying another character completely. Letting go of your intrinsic personality to emulate a character on screen can be incredibly difficult, especially when an actor does a movie based on a real person like Bradley Cooper in Maestro. On top of that, some actors adopt the method acting approach to fully experience the emotional wavelengths of the character. Christian Bale is one of the top actors who adopts this technique and fully immerses himself in the characters he plays.
Also Read: Maestro: 1 Bradley Cooper Act Even Made Leonard Bernstein’s Daughter Take a Bow
Bradley Cooper’s Inspiration for Maestro
After working with Christian Bale in American Hustle, Bradley Cooper was astounded by his ability to completely become the character he’s playing like a chameleon. Cooper appreciated the way Bale never left the voice of Irvin Rosenfeld, his character in the movie. Rather than seeing Bale as competition, Cooper learnt valuable things from the talented actor and improved his abilities too. In a conversation with Spike Lee for Variety, he said,
“American Hustle was the first time I saw an actor stay in the voice of a character. It was Christian Bale. I had heard stories about Daniel Day-Lewis. I couldn’t figure out how someone could do that. Then I realized I was overthinking it. Christian just stayed in the voice, but we talked about his kids. It wasn’t like he saw an iPhone and had a heart attack. Ever since American Hustle, that’s how I’ve done it as an actor.”
In Maestro, Cooper had to portray the famous musical director, Leonard Bernstein, in various stages of life to make his relationship with his wife come alive on screen. The movie has romance undertones to explore how such a genius balanced his work with his personal relationships since both impact a person’s life. Cooper, inspired by Bale, completely changed into Bernstein’s persona and even directed the movie in his style. He added,
“Yes. 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.”
Directing and Acting in Maestro
Spike Lee, in the conversation itself, praised the movie and Cooper’s immense hard work. “Man, you’re amazing. Got the skills in front of and behind the camera. What you did with “Maestro” is monumental. I get excited because when I see great cinema, I’m fired up. You did the damn thing. Whether people like it or not, I don’t give a you-know-what,” he said.
Talking about Cooper’s journey from an actor to a director, he explained that he closely observed the directors he worked with to get the nuance of directing. His 20 years in acting helped him too. Other than that, on Maestro alone, Cooper spent 6 years perfecting the plot and every shot. “And I executed exactly my vision. And that was the result of just having so much time to think and write and prepare to act in this movie,” he said.
In fact, while writing the movie, Cooper involved the Bernstein family to closely review every draft and get the story accurately. He had strict rules on set and maintained a sanctuary-like feel throughout.
“They were part of the process. They read many drafts throughout three or four years. [But] when we shoot the movie, no one’s allowed on set. [Producer] Steven Spielberg came three times, but other than him, there’s nobody. It has to be a sanctuary.”
Maestro received glowing reviews from the public owing to Cooper’s harmonious performance as an actor and director. It shows that he had a clear vision for the story and he was able to achieve it as perfectly as he could.
