Bradley Cooper opened up about the moment he realized he had “a problem with drugs and alcohol” and how he credits actor Will Arnett with the reason he was able to turn everything around.
During the 47-year-old actor’s surprise appearance on 100th episode of the “SmartLess” podcast, Cooper talked about his early days in Hollywood when he shared an apartment building with the “Arrested Development” star and how Arnett, who has been open about his own recovery, was the reason he ultimately realized he had a problem and found sobriety, the Hollywood Reporter stated in a piece published Tuesday.
The two recalled a dinner party and how Cooper said because he was “an insecure person” he tried to mimic the mean humor of the comedians at the time. Later, Arnett dropped by and said he was a “real asshole.”
“Will was like, ‘Hey man, do you remember we had dinner the other night? How do you think that went?’ I was like, ‘I remember being at the dinner thinking I was so funny, and I thought these two guys who were my heroes thought that I was so funny,'” “The Hangover” star explained. “I thought it was great. I thought I was killing. Will’s like, ‘You were a real asshole, man. You were a real asshole.'”
Arnett then asked the actor if he had even taken his dogs out of the apartment that day as it was 4 p.m. and Cooper hadn’t.
He explained “that was the first time I ever realized I had a problem with drugs and alcohol. … The guy that I think is doing mean humor is telling me the truth and it changed my entire life.”
The “American Sniper” star said he had “zero self-esteem” back then and wasn’t aware he was hurting others because “how could I if I’m worthless? I was so lost, and I was addicted to cocaine.”
Around the same time he “got fired/quit” a job on the hit show “Alias” and suffered an injury.
“Will took that risk of having that hard conversation with me in, like, July of 2000 and that put me on a path of deciding to change my life,” Cooper explained. “It truly was Will Arnett — he is the reason.”
The “A Star Is Born” actor was previously romantically linked with supermodel Irina Shayk, with whom he shares a 5-year-old daughter. At one point in the interview, the actor talked about the joys of being a father.
“Fatherhood … everything changed,” Cooper said. “Every single thing is absolutely shaded by or brought out in glorious colors by the fact that I get to be a father to a wonderful human being. It’s just the absolute greatest thing.”