Playing Face in The A-Team, check out this interview with Hangover star Bradley Cooper
You may have noticed Bradley Cooper before you knew who he was, he regularly popped up on TV shows like Nip/Tuck and Alias. But it wasn’t until The Hangover that he became a household name. He’s steadily becoming one of Hollywood’s A-Listers appearing this week as Face in The A-Team.
Q: Were you an A-Team fan growing up?
BC: “Wasn’t every kid? It was incredible to do this movie and to be able to relive a part of the thrill I used to have watching that show. I loved it. I felt like a kid again getting to run around with these iconic characters that I grew up on.”
Q: Did you get on well with your teammates?
BC: “Yeah. We had a blast. They are great guys. And Liam Neeson! He was like the daddy. We looked up to him because there he is, this proper actor, running around messing around just like the rest of us. And Sharlto too. I had seen him in District 9. It was a thrill, just to work with him. Quinton as well. He’s a great guy and perfect as B.A.”
Q: There are some amazing action scenes in this movie. When you first got the script did you wonder how you were even going to shoot them?
BC: “Yes. In the first script that I read the most outrageous stunt, which did wind up being in the movie, was when a tank falls out of an airplane and then is suspended by parachutes. Then we start to steer it by shooting the gun.”
Q: Did you get to do any of your stunts yourself?
BC: “I did get to do a lot actually. Most of the stunt work in the movie is old school in that it all actually happened in front of the camera. We did a lot of what you see which is fantastic. We had an actual tank suspended from this machine that would make it go up and down as if it was falling. We had an actual 50 caliber machine gun on the turret that I was actually sitting in and shooting fully-loaded blanks in a sound stage. You can just imagine what that sound was like. It was incredible. My whole body was shaking.”
Q: Did you get to meet Dirk Benedict, the original Face?
BC: “Yeah, he’s actually in the movie. He plays a guy named Milt. We end up in prison on a tanning bed together. He’s a lovely guy. We talked for a long time. We spent the afternoon together. I learned so much about him, and he’s fantastic.”
Q: You look good again in this, especially the scene in Vegas when you are in the black suit with the silk shirt. A lot of girls are going to be wanting their men to dress like that.
BC: “That does happen actually. I have a new line of clothing coming out especially for that (laughs). It’s funny though. I actually don’t know whether I should apologise for that because some guys won’t like wearing silk.”
Q: With this being a big kids’ movie, are you excited about getting your own action figure?
BC: “Yes, there is one and apparently it looks nothing like me. But I am very excited that there is an action figure for Face.”
Q: It must be a landmark in your career when you finally get a toy you.
BC: “That’s the goal!”
Q: I hear you speak French. How often do you use it to impress ladies?
BC: “Every chance I get. Actually in the A-team there is a scene where Face is seducing this French journalist to pickpocket her credentials and he does speak French with her. So I did get to use it then. But I watched it in playback and I thought, ‘God, it doesn’t sound very good.'”
Q: From what I hear, you’re pretty good with the ladies in real life too. Anything you want to tell?
BC: “Rumours and speculation – that’s all it is. I’ve come to laugh at it all now. It’s hilarious how quickly these things spread. It’s all made up. Don’t believe what you read, that’s what I say.”
Q: Do you have any special techniques on how guys can get a body like yours because you look in amazing shape in this movie.
BC: “You know I haven’t and I can say that my head is not on that body right now (laughs). That went away very fast once the movie was over.”
Q: I hear there is going to be a Hangover 2.
BC: “There is one, yeah. We have a great idea for an opening scene that I really hope stays. It’s going to be great. We start shooting in the fall.”
Q: Do you feel under pressure to match the huge success of the first one?
BC: “No I don’t because you never know what is going to happen anyway. I’m just excited about the four of us working together again.”
Q: Is it true that you also auditioned for the Green Lantern?
BC: “I did but I didn’t get it, Ryan Reynolds did. And I would have chosen him had it been up to me too. I think the trouble was that when I auditioned, it being a superhero movie, I couldn’t help but do my Christian Bale Batman voice. I don’t know why. Needless to say I didn’t get the job.”
The A-Team is now showing in Irish cinemas