Bradley Cooper was “forced to leave” a press conference for his film Maestro due to his young daughter’s medical emergency.
The 48-year-old actor-director, who shares joint custody of his daughter Lea with ex-girlfriend Irina Shayk, reportedly received a message from the school and rushed off stage on Thursday (21 December).
Glancing at his phone midway through the conference, Cooper said: “So sorry. The school nurse just called me. Can I just leave the room for a second to call them back and you can keep going. Is that all right?”
The actor, who plays composer Leonardo Berstein in the new Netflix drama, later returned to the stage and explained why he had to head over to his six-year-old daughter’s school.
“I have to go to the school to do something with Lea that needs… I have to apply something that they won’t allow…. I have to do it, so it’s like a 10 minute walk,” he said, according to MailOnline.
The Independent has contacted Cooper’s representative for a comment.
Cooper, who is known for his appearances in the hangover trilogy, as well as A Star is Born starring Lady Gaga, previously shared the inspiration behind his method of acting in Maestro.
Embracing the late conductor in all his glory, Cooper said he directed his new biopic in Bernstein’s voice after being inspired by Christian Bale’s method in 2013’s American Hustle.
Speaking to fellow director Spike Lee, Cooper recalled being impressed by Bale’s dedication to staying in character.
“American Hustle was the first time I saw an actor stay in the voice of a character,” he told Variety. “It was Christian Bale. I had heard stories about Daniel Day-Lewis. I couldn’t figure out how someone could do that. Then I realised I was overthinking it.
Bradley cooper with his daughter, six— (Getty Images for Netflix)
“Christian just stayed in the voice, but we talked about his kids. It wasn’t like he saw an iPhone and had a heart attack. Ever since American Hustle, that’s how I’ve done it as an actor.”
However, the actor’s directing methods have also been hit with strong criticism over his strict “no chairs on sets” policy, with several people calling out his directing methods for being “harsh”.
During his interview with Lee, Cooper admitted: “There’s no chairs on sets; I’ve always hated chairs and I feel like your energy dips the minute you sit down in a chair. So apple boxes are a nice way to sit.”
He added that there is also “no video village” on his sets, which refers to the director’s monitors and the immediate area surrounding them.
“I hate that,” Cooper added, explaining that he wants to “create a sacred space where things are really occurring in real time”.
Film-Maestro-Carey Mulligan— (© 2022 Netflix, Inc.)
“I actually think going back and watching it and hearing it, I think that’s a vulnerable thing for an actor to hear. No one likes the sound of their own voice anyway,” he shared. “So I want to make actors feel safe to be fearless.”
Maestro, which was released on Netflix this week, has faced some controversy. After Cooper was called out for wearing a prosthetic nose to portray the late Jewish conductor, Cooper said: “I thought, ‘Maybe we don’t need to do it,’ but it’s all about balance, and, you know, my lips are nothing like Lenny’s, and my chin. And so we had that, and it just didn’t look right [without the prosthetic].”
Berstein’s children also came out in defence of Cooper, saying that he had “included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father”.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) also shared a message in a statement to Variety in support of the actor. “Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses. This film, which is a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that.”
Maestro, which Cooper co-wrote, directed and stars in alongside Carrey Mulligan, has received mostly positive critical reviews.
