Cooper ‘embarrassed’ after director snub
Moments after he learned his movie “A Star Is Born” was nominated for multiple Oscars, Bradley Cooper admitted one emotion stood out first: embarrassment.
That’s because the actor and filmmaker realized he wasn’t nominated for best director for the movie in what many consider to be one of this year’s biggest Oscar snubs.
“I was in New York City at a coffee shop and I looked down at my phone and (my publicist) had texted me and they said congratulations on these other things, but they didn’t tell me the bad news,” Cooper recalled during a sitdown with Oprah Winfrey. “I went, ‘Oh wow,’ and the first thing I felt was embarrassment, actually felt embarrassed that I didn’t do my part.”
The film, in which Cooper stars with Lady Gaga, was his directorial debut and is up for best picture at this year’s Academy Awards, which air Feb. 24 on ABC. Other nominations include best adapted screenplay; Cooper for best actor; Gaga for best actress; and Sam Elliott for best supporting actor.
Cooper was nominated for his directorial work on “A Star Is Born” at multiple other award shows but came up short at major ceremonies including the Golden Globes and the Directors Guild Awards.
“The truth is you feel like a loser,” Cooper told Winfrey during the “Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations From Times Square” event. “That’s the only downside. The award show ends and ... they avoid you a little bit and then they do say, ‘It was a good movie.’ Thanks, thanks.”