Bradley Cooper: ‘Lady Gaga is a revelation in A Star is Born’

Actor-turned-filmmaker Bradley Cooper has praised Lady Gaga as a “revelation” in his upcoming movie, A Star Is Born.
The Oscar nominee shared his thoughts on the pop superstar’s acting talents during a career discussion with his Silver Linings Playbook co-star Robert De Niro at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday (21Apr18), when they discussed the dedication Cooper has had in bringing his directorial debut to the big screen.
The classic musical drama, which was first released with Janet Gaynor in 1937, revolves around a wannabe singer who moves to Hollywood and is discovered by an alcoholic actor. Judy Garland played the aspiring star in a remake in 1954, and Barbra Streisand took on the iconic role in 1976.
“(It) kept haunting me, that story… shots kept coming into my head, and I would dream about it, and I realised I just have to do it, I have to sort of purge it in a way,” Cooper explained.
“So I knew that I had to do it. Whether it fails or not, I knew that I had to try. And I wound up absolutely loving it. I don’t wanna say too much because maybe you’ll hate the movie, but I love it. I really love it. It’s the movie I set out to make, which is hard to say,” he told De Niro.
He dubbed his leading lady a “revelation”, and revealed they made a pact at the start of filming.
“She said right from the beginning that this is gonna be a barter. ‘I’m gonna rely on you to get a performance that’s honest out of me’ – ’cause she’s never done a film (as a leading lady) before – ‘and I’m gonna make sure that you turn into a musician. Because we’re going to sing everything live,'” Cooper said.
“And I thought, ‘Wait, wait… what?’ And she said, ‘The only way this is going to work… I can’t stand when I watch musicals and you can tell that it’s a prerecording, or lip syncing.’ And she’s right. So that was terrifying, but I really relied on her,” he added.
The 43-year-old also thanked De Niro and his frequent collaborator, director David O. Russell, who made a surprise appearance during the interview, for helping him with the final cut of A Star is Born.
“You (David) spent like, 25 minutes just going through the whole thing right when you were in the middle of something. And it’s that kind of camaraderie that I’d always read about, with (Martin) Scorsese and (De Niro), and the Coen brothers and their actors,” Cooper gushed. “To be able to be a person who has loved and admired these men so much, and then have them help me to create art has just been incredible.”
A Star is Born is set for release in October (18).