Categories: News

Bradley Cooper Opens Up About Drugs, Alcohol And His Career

Bradley Cooper opens up about his past drug addictions and low points in a candid interview with GQ.

Cooper, who was just nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in American Hustle, gave the intimate interview while on location in Hawaii shooting an untitled Cameron Crowe film. He recounts his career, from a one-episode stint in Sex and the City to his first regular television job playing Will Tippin in Alias, which he held from 2001 to 2002.

Cooper on 'Alias': "I Was Like, 'I Want To Kill Myself'"

Cooper hit a rough patch early in his career when his role in Alias became smaller and smaller, leaving him feeling bored and depressed.

“I would only work three days a week. And then for the second season, I got even more sidelined. I was like, ‘Ugh.’ And then next thing you know, I was like, ‘I want to kill myself,’” Cooper says.

He asked showrunner J.J. Abrams to be written off the show, though he had no other job lined up at the time. A string of television roles followed.

Drugs, Alcohol, Sobriety

Before he hit it big with his star-making roles in Wedding Crashers and The Hangover, he reveals he reached a low point with alcohol and drugs and decided to get sober in 2004 after realizing, “if I continued it, I was really going to sabotage my whole life."

Cooper describes his career after getting sober, which included a staring role in the 2009 flop All About Steve and The Wedding Crashers, as a time where he was able to find a place acting full time while sober:

“I was doing these movies, and I got to meet Sandra Bullock and meet these people and work with them. And I’m sober, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m actually myself. And I don’t have to put on this air to be somebody else, and this person still wants to work with me? Oh, what the f—k is that about?’ I was rediscovering myself in the workplace, and it was wonderful.”

However, Cooper adds that he didn’t feel creatively fulfilled during this time in his career, saying, “Now, in the back of my head, or in a place of my heart of, like, creativity, did I feel utterly fulfilled? Absolutely not. But I was grateful and happy to be working, and filling that void in smaller moments.”

One can assume that now, as an Oscar nominee (for his role in Silver Linings Playbook), Cooper feels more artistically fulfilled than ever.

American Hustle is playing in limited release and opens in wide release Friday, Dec. 20.

Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Get Uinterview's FREE iPhone App For Daily News Updates here.

Get the FREE Uinterview iPad app here and watch our videos anywhere.

More on Bradley Cooper:

'American Hustle' Review: Amy Adams Stuns

Suki Waterhouse, Bradley Cooper's Girlfriend, Attends '˜American Hustle' Premiere

Chris Tucker Video Interview On 'Silver Linings Playbook'

Bradley Cooper And 21-Year-Old Girlfriend Suki Waterhouse Read 'Lolita' In Paris Park

'The Hangover Part III' Movie Review: A Deflated Ending To An UnnecessaryTrilogy

uInterview

Recent Posts

Russian State TV Hosts Praise Trump’s ‘Totally Wonderful’ Cabinet Picks

Russian television hosts shared that they were excited about President-elect Donald Trump's presidential cabinet choices. During…

1 hour ago

Linkin Park Preps For More ‘From Zero’ Tour Dates – Setlist & Ticket Info

One of the most successful bands of the 2000s, the band went on a seven-year…

2 hours ago

Grimes Says She Hasn’t Seen One Of Her Children In 5 Months Amid Custody Battle With ‘Unrecognizable’ Ex Elon Musk

Musician Grimes claimed on social media that she had not seen one of her children…

3 hours ago

VIDEO: Glen Powell Lookalike Contest Draws Huge Crowd To Austin Park

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mtELs7bS8IA A Glen Powell lookalike contest drew large crowds to Austin’s Town Lake Park on…

5 hours ago

Biden Tells Donors At White House Farewell Party: ‘Don’t Jump In The Pool’

President Joe Biden quipped to wealthy guests during a weekend dinner with Democratic donors. “Good…

6 hours ago

VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Holland Roden, Noemi Gonzalez & Erin Cahill Share Their Favorite Moments On Set Filming ‘Hollydazed’

Cahill expressed, "The creative energy was off the charts – you never knew what was…

6 hours ago