Bradley Cooper On The Film That Made Him Want To Become An Actor

Bradley Cooper has credited “The Elephant Man” as the film that made him – as a pre-teen – want to become an actor.

“It was a joke for people around me that this little kid was saying he’s going to be an actor. But I did. When I saw ‘Elephant Man,’ I knew it,” Bradley told Serena Altschul in an interview for “CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood.” “It crystalized and I said, ‘That’s what I want to do with my life and I never swayed from that.’”

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During the interview, excerpts of which were released by CBS on Thursday, the “Silver Linings Playbook” actor admitted to tough times when he first moved to Hollywood in the early stages of his career.

“Watching myself peer into the abyss, and I thought, ‘Wow, I’m, actually going to sabotage my whole life,’” he said. “I didn’t really recognize myself. I was lost.”

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The former “Sexiest Man Alive” said he is thankful for his career, and one role in particular, taught him how wonderfully unpredictable life can turn out.

“The truth is, I couldn’t believe that I got cast in ‘The Hangover,’” he said. “So I sort of gave up trying to rationalize my life a long time ago.”

The full interview with Bradley airs Sunday, December 23 at 9 AM ET/PT on CBS.

— Jolie Lash