Bradley Cooper reveals he SOBBED on phone to Leonard Bernstein’s family after they defended him over ‘Jewface’ scandal – as he admits he thought about NOT wearing controversial fake nose

• The 48-year-old actor was accused of ‘Jewface’ for wearing a prosthetic nose
• He has now revealed he considered not wearing the controversial facial feature
• Cooper also shared how he broke down in tears over Bernstein family’s support 

Bradley Cooper admitted he did consider not wearing his controversial prosthetic nose to play Leonard Bernstein in his new film Maestro about the famed composer.

In the lead up to its release, the 48-year-old actor and director faced ‘Jewface’ accusations — with some on social media calling him out for wearing the exaggerated facial feature and for playing a Jewish role as a non-Jewish person.

Now he has spoken out about the choice to don a prosthetic, telling CBS News: ‘I thought, “Maybe we don’t need to do it”… But it’s all about balance, and… my lips are nothing like Lenny’s, and my chin. And so we had that, and it just didn’t look right.’

Cooper, a Philadelphia native, also revealed he broke down in tears during a phone conversation with Alexander, the son of Leonard, who — along with siblings Jamie and Nina — defended the actor’s choice to wear the fake nose in a public letter.

Bradley Cooper says he considered not wearing his prosthetic nose in Maestro. Cooper is pictured left as Leonard Bernstein in the film, while the composer is pictured right in 1974

In the lead up to the release, the 48-year-old actor and director faced ‘Jewface’ accusations. Carey Mulligan (pictured with Cooper in the film) also stars in Maestro

The Hangover star said he rang Bernstein’s children to thank them for their support.

‘I read it, and I called Alex [Bernstein] to thank him… and I remember I called him on the phone, and I heard his voice. And then I couldn’t believe it, but this huge emotional exhalation came out, and I just was crying so hard, I couldn’t even thank him. And he started crying,’ Cooper told the publication.

‘And it was an incredible moment. And… sometimes you don’t even know what’s going on, you know… I couldn’t believe that gesture. It was very moving to me.’

In their letter, Bernstein’s children said Cooper had ‘included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father.’

‘We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music, and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration. It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts,’ they wrote in the statement in August. 

‘It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we’re perfectly fine with that. We’re also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well.

‘Any strident complaints around this issue strike us above all as disingenuous attempts to bring a successful person down a notch — a practice we observed all too often perpetrated on our own father. 

‘At all times during the making of this film, we could feel the profound respect and yes, the love that Bradley brought to his portrait of Leonard Bernstein and his wife, our mother Felicia.

Some on social media called Cooper out for wearing the exaggerated facial feature and for playing a Jewish role as a non-Jewish person. He’s pictured here at the Met Gala in May 2022

Bernstein is pictured here with wife Felicia Montealegre, who is played by Mulligan in the film, in 1959. His children defended Cooper for his choice

In a statement, Jamie, Alexander and Nina Bernstein (pictured in 2017) said Cooper included them ‘along every step of his amazing journey as he made’ the film about their father

‘We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Bradley, and we can’t wait for the world to see his creation.’

It followed intense backlash online upon the release of the trailer for Maestro, which also stars Carey Mulligan as Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre.

On social media, many users sounded off on the size of Cooper’s prosthetic —which was visible as he filmed the movie in 2022 — with some using photos to show that Bernstein’s nose was not close to that size.

Bernstein can be seen here in 1986 at Springate – his Fairfield, Connecticut, home – surrounded by his family

New York City-based group Stop Antisemites tweeted a picture of Bernstein before launching an attack on Cooper back in August

‘It seems completely unnecessary to have gone in that direction given the uncanny resemblance,’ one user said, adding: ‘The real Leonard Bernstein did not have the funny nose that Bradley Cooper is wearing in Maestro.’

Another user added that ‘there was no need for Bradley Cooper to add an odd prosthetic nose on top of this to play Leonard Bernstein,’ as ‘his own nose is longer!’

Someone else noted that the Academy Award-nominated star, who is not Jewish, should not have even been in the casting discussion with ‘so many great Jewish actors out there.’

Jake Gyllenhaal, who is Jewish, had a competing biopic but lost in the battle of rights to use Bernstein’s material against Cooper and his producing team on the film, which includes filmmaking icons Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.

Source: Read Full Article