The 'Maestro' director also requires a closed set on his films.
Bradley Cooper has some important on-set rules when he's directing a movie. In the latest edition of Variety's "Actors on Actors" series, the Maestro director, producer and star tells Spike Lee what he demands while helming a film.
"For me, it was such a natural transition, once I had the courage to write and direct a movie," Cooper said of moving from acting to behind-the-camera work. "But when I direct, I don't watch playback. There's no chairs. I've always hated chairs on sets; your energy dips the minute you sit down in a chair. There's no video village."
Cooper also made it a point to have a largely closed set, explaining, "When we shoot the movie, no one’s allowed on set. [Producer] Steven Spielberg came three times, but other than him, there's nobody. It has to be a sanctuary."
For Maestro, Cooper went full method, staying in his Leonard Bernstein character at all times while on set.
"American Hustle was the first time I saw an actor stay in the voice of a character. It was Christian Bale. I had heard stories about Daniel Day-Lewis. I couldn't figure out how someone could do that. Then I realized I was overthinking it," Cooper said. "Christian just stayed in the voice, but we talked about his kids. It wasn't like he saw an iPhone and had a heart attack. Ever since American Hustle, that’s how I've done it as an actor."
That even held true for Cooper when he was wearing his director hat on the Maestro set.
"I was playing Lenny throughout his life. I would spend three to six hours in the makeup trailer every day before the crew arrived. It was hilarious, because on days when I was young Lenny, the energy of the set was faster and we got more done," he said. "And then when I was old Lenny, it had a slower gear. If you ask the crew or cast, Lenny directed the movie."
Cooper further discussed how he directed while staying in character during The Hollywood Reporter's directors roundtable.
"I have hand signals with the sound mixer and the camera operator. I don't call action. After everything's set up, I'll just start talking and bring the actors and often they don't know we're rolling," Cooper said. "And then they're like, 'The scene's over.' And they're like, 'Huh?' I'm [playing] Lenny Bernstein, so I'm not breaking in and out of character."
The result of all of his hard work, Cooper told Variety, is exactly what he imagined.
"I grew up on this movie. It changed me as an artist," he said. "And people may not like it. I'm sure they won't. It is what it is, do you know what I mean? I executed exactly my vision. And that was the result of just having so much time to think and write and prepare to act in this movie."
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