Bradley Charles Cooper was born on January 5, 1975, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Georgetown University in 1997, Cooper moved to New York City to enroll in the Masters of Fine Arts program at the Actors Studio Drama School at New School University. While still in school, Bradley began his acting career. His first role saw him appearing opposite Sarah Jessica Parker on Sex and the City. As we previously reported, the actor landed the role by lying. He said that he knew how to drive a stick shift car when he actually didn’t. For his first film role, Cooper had to miss his graduation ceremony for 2001’s Wet Hot American Summer. After starring in a few other features and television series, Cooper snagged supporting roles in more popular films like 2005’s Wedding Crashers, 2006’s Failure to Launch, and 2008’s Yes Man. By the end of the oughts, Cooper broke out with major roles in He’s Just Not That Into You, The Hangover, and Valentine’s Day.

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Cooper found even more success with starring roles in 2011’s Limitless, 2012’s The Place Beyond the Pines and Silver Linings Playbook, 2013’s American Hustle, and 2014’s American Sniper. Also, in 2014, the actor snagged a role in Guardians of the Galaxy as the voice of Rocket Raccoon. Finally, in 2018, Cooper won an award for his acting after years of nominations in A Star Is Born, which he produced, wrote, directed, and starred in. He won a BAFTA Award and two Grammys. In 2023’s Maestro, Cooper starred, co-wrote, and directed the film. In it, he plays American conductor Leonard Bernstein and spent a whopping six years learning how to conduct just over six minutes of music. His next project will be producing Todd Phillips’ sequel Joker: Folie à Deux, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga.

Take a look below at our list of Bradley Cooper’s best movie roles:

• 8. 'The Hangover'

  You can’t think of Bradley Cooper without thinking about The Hangover film series. In it, Cooper plays the cocky frat boy Phil, and after Alan (Zach Galifianakis) roofies everyone, they’ve got to work together in retracing their steps in finding the lost groom-to-be (Justin Bartha). We thoroughly enjoyed when this film came out and has garnered a few rewatches; it’s the best out of the trilogy.

• 7. 'Limitless'

  Forget the red pill or blue pill from The Matrix. What if there was a drug that could make you unlock your entire brain? In this 2011 sci-fi thriller, Cooper is a struggling writer who tries a sample of this drug and discovers that he has acquired perfect recall, finding himself able to analyze every minute detail and to process information at incredible speed. Of course, the drug sounds too good to be true, as everyone who has taken it has wound up hospitalized or dead.

• 6. 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'

  In the third and final installment of the Guardians film franchise, the 2023 film centers around Rocket Raccoon’s (Cooper) tragic backstory. Rocket may be a CGI, but real tears flowed when we saw baby Rocket’s upbringing as subject 89P13. He wasn’t always the rough and tough Rocket that we’ve known in the previous films, and the flashbacks really tugged on the heartstrings. Cooper’s voice acting added a lot to the story.

• 5. 'The Place Beyond The Pines'

  The story may center around Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes, but Cooper’s role as rookie cop Avery Cross stirs things up as Gosling’s Luke pulls off robbery after robbery. Director Derek Cianfrance specifically wrote the role for Cooper. Cianfrance described his character as “a guy who’s paraded around as a hero, but inside feels corrupted.”

• 4. 'American Hustle'

  This dark comedy crime film brought Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence together again in 2013. Inspired by the FBI’s Abscam sting operation, the film is set against the backdrop of political corruption in 1970’s New Jersey, with Cooper starring as wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso.

• 3. 'A Star is Born'

  This 2018 remake of the same 1937, 1954, and 1976 musical films of the same name was Cooper’s directorial debut. Having long aspired to direct a film, Cooper was keen on making a love story. Warned against making another remake, he feared this film would end his directing career if it failed. However, that was not the case here as it was a huge hit. Cooper and co-star Lady Gaga had electrifying chemistry and Cooper’s film achieved critical acclaim and awards. He spent nearly four years working on the project and took voice, piano, and guitar lessons in preparation for the role.

• 2. 'Nightmare Alley'

  This 2021 thriller was an adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel of the same name. Cooper was cast as Stanton Carlisle, looking for work as a carny with a traveling carnival. Clem, played by the great Willem Dafoe, explains to Stan how low men will go to performing as a “geek”: luring troubled souls with promises of a “temporary” job and opium-laced alcohol. Cooper garnered a fourth nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture for producing the film.

• 1. 'Silver Linings Playbook'

  In 2012, Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence starred in this romantic comedy that established the actors with serious chops for drama. This is one of those movies that should be watched, though once is enough, as the themes of mental illness are so heavy. Cooper was cast as Pat, a divorced man with bipolar disorder and Lawrence, a depressed widow. Cooper was initially skeptical about playing the part, which he thought was out of his depth, but the film turned out to be a fantastic emotional, funny, troubling, and romantic blend.

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