The Strange Thing Bradley Cooper Refuses To Let Cast And Crew Do On Movie Sets
Bradley Cooper started his Hollywood career in TV in the early 2000s, taking bit parts like a guest-starring role on "Law & Order: SVU" and he even played Jennifer Garner's best friend on "Alias" for a few seasons. Fast forward 20 years, and Cooper is directing and starring in Oscar-nominated movies like 2023's "Maestro" and 2018's "A Star is Born." Along the way, he's discovered what works for him and what doesn't when it comes to being on a movie set, and when he's the director, one thing that doesn't work for him is chairs.
In a conversation with Spike Lee for Variety in 2023, Cooper explained his thought process behind this no-chair policy: "I've always hated chairs [on sets], and I feel like your energy dips the minute you sit down in a chair. [...] There's no video village." If you're not as set-savvy as Cooper, "video village" refers to a set of monitors that some directors and producers use to watch what's being filmed and where they often sit in chairs. While he explained his reasoning, some found the practice quite unusual.
Bradley Cooper wants people to stay energized on set
People on social media had some strong thoughts about Bradley Cooper's on-set policy of no chairs. "I think every single person on set should get a provided chair, not just cast/video village, because working 12 hour+ days without being allowed to sit down is inhumane," one person posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Others joked about how Cooper's policy might be a reflection of his age. "He'll change his tune when his back turns about 55 years old," one person posted.
It's not that Cooper wants people to stay on their feet all day — that does sound pretty dreadful. He told Spike Lee in the Variety interview that instead of chairs, an "apple box is a very nice way to sit."
It seems like he wants people to keep their heads in the game, as it were, with what's going on and not get too relaxed or distracted on set, and removing the chairs seems to be one of his ways to do that. Cooper certainly wanted to keep things focused when it came to making his movie "Maestro." He co-wrote the screenplay for the movie about the life of Leonard Bernstein, directed the movie, and played the legendary composer, taking six years to study the late composer's technique. Some think he spent so much time working on the film as a way to get an Oscar.
Bradley Cooper isn't the only Oscar-nominated director to skip chairs on set
Bradley Cooper has been in the unenviable position of being "always the bridesmaid, and never the bride" when it comes to the Oscars. He's been nominated for the prestigious award 12 times, but he has yet to win as of the 2023 award ceremony. Those 12 nominations include ones in 2024 for "Maestro" in the Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay categories. Cooper's real-life friend Carey Mulligan was also nominated for playing Bernstein's wife Felicia Montealegre, and the movie also received nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, and Best Sound.
Cooper has some tough competition when it comes to this year's Oscars, particularly with Christopher Nolan's movie "Oppenheimer." It got a lot of big wins at this year's Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture: Drama and Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture: Drama, both categories that Cooper was also nominated in for "Maestro."
Along with sharing some major 2024 award nominations, Cooper and Nolan also seem to share a no-chairs-on-set practice. Robert Downey Jr. told Variety that on the set of "Oppenheimer," directed by Christopher Nolan, "there were no set chairs." Anne Hathaway, who worked with Nolan on two films, also said there weren't chairs on set, though a rep for Nolan clarified Hathaway's statement to Indie Wire: " "The chairs Anne was referring to are the director's chairs clustered around the video monitor, allocated on the basis of hierarchy not physical need. Chris chooses not to use his but has never banned chairs from the set."