Enthusiastic fans and super stars packed a sold-out Arlington Theatre Thursday to honor Bradley Cooper, who was presented with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Outstanding Performer of the Year Award for his critically-acclaimed portrayal of Leonard Bernstein in Netflix’s “Maestro.”
Cooper not only starred in the film, but also co-wrote, directed, and produced it, fueling Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, thus bringing his total count of Oscar nods to twelve.
“We are all rooting for this man to win the Oscars and finally get what he deserves,” said Roger Durling, SBIFF Executive Director, who welcomed the crowd and praised Cooper’s role in “Maestro.”
“For me, ‘Maestro’ is a master work,” said Brad Pitt, who presented Cooper with the award. Pitt spoke about Cooper’s direction of one specific scene that “set the tone for the entire film,” referencing when Bernstein and his wife Felicia (portrayed by Carey Mulligan), first meet, talking over each other, enthralled, as “alive, kinetic and so natural.”
“This is really, really difficult to achieve,” said Pitt. “Yes, it takes great actors but it also takes great construction and I’m telling you not since (Robert) Redford, have I seen anyone do it so well.”
“Now I’m not gonna say I know for certain what’s at the heart of Bradley’s brilliance, but I am going to take a stab at it,” continued Pitt. “What I think it is, is his voracious love for this little thing we call the human experience and all its struggles and joys and messiness. My man’s in it, he doesn’t run from any of it, and I think it’s that he infuses that into each frame that he puts up on the screen.”
Cooper’s co-star Carey Mulligan, who was also nominated for an Academy Award for her role as the late composer-conductor’s wife also attended the event, and introduced the “Maestro” clip, sharing praise for Cooper’s portrayal.
“What might be too easily taken for granted is your innate gift for acting,” Mulligan said. “I don’t think acting is something you can perfect after 10,000 hours – it’s those impressions you leave on people that is just talent, a god-given talent and having an evening to honor you for that is brilliant.”
The “Maestro” clip was just one of many shared, showcasing the actor’s impressive career, with personal stories and insights from each film.
In fact, film critic and moderator Pete Hammond pointed out that this year marks Cooper’s 25th anniversary in the industry, recalling his first job as Jake-the-Downtown-Smoker in “Sex and the City.”
Cooper grew up outside of Philadelphia and said that although he was shy, he always knew he wanted to be an actor.
“I remember when we got Comcast and I could watch ‘The Elephant Man’ and ‘Popeye.’ I was obsessed with that world.”
Cooper shared pivotal moments from his career, including the embrace his dad gave him after watching his son’s graduate thesis performance in “The Elephant Man.”
“He hugged me in a way that I knew that he thought maybe it was possible that I could make it. It was a huge moment for me.”
Two pivotal encounters with actor Robert De Niro were also “huge moments” for Cooper.
He shared his experience as a young student terrified to ask De Niro a question about his role as Leonard Lowe in “Awakenings,” fearing that it would be perceived as stupid. But he went with his gut and asked it anyway and De Niro responded that he’d asked a good question. Elated and astounded, Cooper said he got a VHS tape of that interview and played it repeatedly for years.
“There’s so much rejection in this business, you have to hold onto the good things,” he said.
“I also went to meet De Niro about another role and I knew I wasn’t going to get it, and he said to me, ‘You’re not getting the role, but I see it, OK, I see it.’”
“He told me he saw something in me and I carried that for years.”
Clips from Cooper’s storied career also included “The Hangover,” “The Place Beyond the Pines,” “Burnt,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” and “American Sniper.”
“It’s mind-blowing to be here at a retrospective of my work,” Cooper said. “It’s really about sharing the work with people and hoping they connect. Movies have inspired me, changed how I felt about something and kept me alive.”
“It’s just such a privilege. I can’t believe I get to do this and I’ve been so blessed,” he added.
“Living is hard and it feels like it gets harder. And I need people who love me and that I can love and without that I would just be walking on a wasteland,” he continued. “And sometimes it’s hard to keep going and you know when you feel love and authenticity, it gives us strength and it’s just community, man. It’s all about community. And I know that without community I would never attempt to achieve the things that I’ve attempted without people that have believed in me in ways that I never believed in myself.
“So gosh, let’s do that for other people; if you feel that way about someone, please tell them because you never know what’s possible.”
Cooper joins an elite roster of SBIFF Outstanding Performer of the Year Award recipients that includes: Cate Blanchett, Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Sacha Baron Cohen, Adam Driver, Rami Malek, Margot Robbie and Allison Janney, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, Brie Larson and Saoirse Ronan, Steve Carell, Jennifer Lawrence, Viola Davis, James Franco, Colin Firth, Penelope Cruz, Angelina Jolie, Helen Mirren, Heath Ledger, Kate Winslet, and Charlize Theron.
The 39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival continues through Feb. 17. Passes are on sale at sbiff.org.
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