Multi-award winning actor Bradley Cooper has slammed Hollywood’s annual prizegiving as “utterly meaningless”.
The star tells Interview Magazine, in a joint chat with his A Star Is Born co-star Anthony Ramos, that an artistic production of any kind is a truly a collaborative effort – insisting singling someone out from an artistic project like a film can make it difficult to stay grounded.
Ramos, who also starred in Lin Manuel’s original production of Hamilton, both off-Broadway and on Broadway, set up the conversation by discussing what he believes to be the typical mindset after being nominated.
“It’s about me. I’m the only one here from my cast, so it’s only me,” Ramos said, prompting the sarcastic response, “I must be special,” from Cooper.
“That awards season stuff is a real test. It’s set up to foster that mentality. It’s quite a thing to work through, and it’s completely devoid of artistic creation,” he adds. “It’s not why you sacrifice everything to create art, and yet you spend so much time being a part of it if you’re, in quotes, ‘lucky enough to be a part of it’.
“It’s ultimately a great thing because it really does make you face ego, vanity, and insecurity. It’s very interesting and utterly meaningless.”
Some of Cooper’s many award nominations include eight Academy Award nods, eight BAFTAs, and six Golden Globes, resulting in one win – the BAFTA for Best Film Music, which he shared with co-star Lady Gaga.
He also won two Grammys for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for the song Shallow from A Star Is Born.
