Rocket Racoon is one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when the character was introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. Bradley Cooper was immensely praised for his outstanding performance in the film, while critics believed the character was destined to fail, Cooper’s voice acting helped the character to become well-loved with his expertise.
Bradley Cooper is known in Hollywood for his successful career in the movie industry, and his work was so outstanding as a director in the Oscar-nominated film A Star Is Born, and his success is not limited to only individual films but also to DC films, as he was the producer in Joaquin Phoenix’s 2019 Joker. However, he was once on the verge of quitting his acting career.
Bradley Cooper Wanted To Work With Paul Thomas Anderson At All Costs
Despite enjoying success with his play, the Marvel actor shared with Mahershala Ali during Variety’s Actors on Actors series, how he considered retiring as an actor but Paul Thomas Anderson called him to cast Cooper in the 2021 romantic drama Licorice Pizza.
“The reason that I didn’t give up acting is Paul Thomas Anderson. When he called me to maybe be in his movie, Mahershala, I mean really, I think I’d open up a door in his movie. I’d do anything.”
Cooper continued that even the COVID-19 pandemic could not stop him from being in the movie with the renowned filmmaker.
“We broke from Nightmare Alley, I was able to grow a beard and [film studio] Searchlight was praying that I didn’t get COVID, because we had to go back and continue Nightmare Alley, but I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m not doing it.’ That was the first movie back from COVID.”
Cooper made the right decision, as the film was immensely successful and it stopped the actor from retiring after voicing Rocket Racoon in Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame in 2019 which was a global success at the Box Office collecting $2.79 billion making it one of the highest grossing superhero films by Marvel.
Bradley Cooper Thought of Retiring As An Actor
Before becoming a successful actor, Bradley Cooper considered quitting his acting career, the actor almost decided to quit after his brief appearance in the TV Series Alias. Even though he played the role of a side character in the series, he soon noticed that his screen time in the show was declining, which made him frustrated.
“I would only work three days a week. And then for the second season, I got even more sidelined. I was like, ‘Ugh.’ And then next thing you know, I was like, ‘I want to f***ing kill myself.’”
Eventually, Cooper asked the showrunner to remove his character from the show, and he questioned his career in Hollywood.
“At some point, you have to come to terms with The business just doesn’t want you, you know what I mean?”
However, his doubts were left behind when he decided to make Three Days of Rain, this was his first theatre work, and after he passed the screen test for his play where he was praised along with his co-star Julia Roberts. They won Audience Choice Awards for their on-stage performance, which made him an A-listed celebrity.
Licorice Pizza can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Variety’s Actors on Actors
