a director is born

Bradley Cooper Directed A Star Is Born’s Grammy Scene Fake-Drunk

Bradley Cooper. Photo: Warner Bros.

Well, we can finally add some important context to the scene that spurred some very real, very legit headlines such as “Jackson Maine Was Blitzed Out of His Mind at the Grammys Last Night.” While we might’ve been waxing poetic about Bradley Cooper’s smooth-as-whiskey voice in A Star Is Born as opposed to his auteur skills, this anecdote from a new Vanity Fair interview with Cooper and Lady Gaga has us now really gunning for a Best Director nom: For the scenes when Cooper’s Jackson was inebriated out of his mind, “especially the Grammy scene,” he decided to stay in character while behind the camera for maximum authenticity. “Thank God the actors were willing to allow me to direct them sort of in that state, because it was easier to stay in that space,” Cooper explained. “It just took me a little longer to communicate what I wanted.” Vanity Fair notes Cooper has been sober for almost 15 years, so he never actually swigged down a bottle or two of Jack Daniel’s in the name of the craft — birthing this fake-drunk-director persona. Yeehaw!

Bradley Cooper Directed A Star Is Born Scenes Fake-Drunk