Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XVI

Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence Copyright: Helga Esteb Bradley Cooper & Director David O Russell Q: You became interested in the movies thanks largely to your father's influence, didn't you? COOPER: My father was a true cinephile and he invested a lot of time in showing me very serious and very avant-garde films when I was still pretty young - around 10 or 11. I was exposed to a lot of movies which most parents would never want to show their children at that age! (Laughs) But I was hooked! Another huge factor was that we happened to live right across the road from a movie theatre in Philadelphia. All I had to do to go see a movie was go out the back door of our house, cross some train tracks, and in a minute or so I was inside the theatre. That's how easy it was. Q: Which films did you grow up admiring? COOPER: My dad and I would watch French art house movies like Alain Resnais's “Hiroshima Mon Amour” and Truffaut's “Les 400 Coups.” I also remember seeing great American films like “The Deer Hunter” and “Apocalypse Now.” And I knew I wanted to be an actor when I saw “The Elephant Man.” I was only 12 but from that moment until now acting has been my focus. I would constantly tell my friends or anyone who would come to my parents' house that I was going to be an actor and even though people would usually laugh I was very serious. Q: Why do you think movies had such an effect on you as a young boy? COOPER: It was the way they transported me into this wonderful fantasy world. As soon as the movie was over, I felt like I was still part of the story and I would lie in bed trying to imagine myself in that world. I was also the kind of kid who wanted to grow up fast and I would learn a lot about the adult world by watching movies and studying how the characters behaved. It's the kind of awareness and knowledge you would never get just hanging around the corridors at school. Q: You speak fluent French and travel to Paris quite often. Do you feel at home there? COOPER: Paris is one of my favourite places on earth. I love the culture, I love the city, and it's interesting to be able to feel at home in a city that I was always fascinated by when I would watch French films. I feel very free there the way you do when you don't have anything to do in a place and can just do exactly as you please without worrying about work or anything else. Q: You turn 40 next year. Any thoughts of starting a family? COOPER: I would love to be a father one day and start building a family. I know my father would have been very happy to see me raising my own children because family was the most important thing in life to him. I'm sorry he won't be around to see his grandchildren but he knows that fatherhood was something I was looking forward to. That's my next big step in life. 7 3 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I