“I can’t do this”: Bradley Cooper Left Robert De Niro Stunned With Bizzare Impression Of Goodfellas Star
It’s no secret that Bradley Cooper is a huge fan of Robert De Niro, who has been an important part of his professional as well as inadvertently personal life.
They’ve worked together in movies like Limitless and Silver Linings Playbook. In Limitless, De Niro plays the role of Carl Van Loon, who’s the mentor of Eddie Morra (Cooper) – the drugged stock market genius. And in the 2012 hit, the duo plays father and son, as Cooper’s character struggles with his mental health.
On a personal level, the Burnt actor lost his father around the same time and went on to reveal how sharing the father-son dynamic with De Niro on sets helped him deal with his father’s loss better. However, Cooper had to work very hard to get an opportunity to collaborate with the iconic actor.
How Robert De Niro Reacted to Seeing Bradley Cooper’s Audition Tape
By 2008, Bradley Cooper had already established himself among the sought-after actors, having delivered not one or two but five movies in a single year.
But even then The Hangover star had to face rejection in his attempts to work with “one of his heroes,” Robert De Niro.
During an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, he recalled how he tapped an audition to get a role in one of De Niro’s movies.
The hilarious attempt included acting out a scene with his own mother with the Philadelphia accent playing the part of De Niro. As soon as he started recording the scene, his mother got nervous and could only act the yelling part, gesturing: “I can’t do this. What if De Niro hears me.”
The tape found its way to the Goodfellas star, who took his time to call the young actor and asked him to come and see him in his hotel. Cooper revealed what De Niro said in his trademark style: “I just wanna let you know, I saw it, I see you, I see it.”
He lost out the role of De Niro’s son to Sam Rockwell in the movie Everybody’s Fine. But in a separate interview, he added how the legend praised and hugged him.
Did Robert De Niro Appear in Joker Because of Bradley Cooper?
Despite not being able to get the opportunity to join hands with De Niro in 2009, the meeting motivated Cooper to keep going. He eventually got to act with him in two movies – Limitless and Silver Linings Playbook – in quick succession.
They went on to form a special bond and also collaborated for American Hustle and Joy in 2013 and 2015. Further, he also convinced the Godfather actor to join the Joker project. De Niro told PEOPLE,
“I met Todd Phillips [the director] and I liked him. I thought ‘this will be an interesting project.’ Bradley was one of the producers and he told me to do it.”
Joaquin Phoenix was undoubtedly the star of the psychological thriller, but De Niro in his brilliant portrayal of TV show host Murry Franklin brought the worst out of Arthur in the phenomenal climax scene and got plenty of plaudits.
Source: Late Night with Conan O’Brien
