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celebratedliving.com
SUMMER 2011
did thesame thingwithdirectorJoeCarnahan
[withhis roleasLt.Templeton“Faceman”
Peck]on
TheA-Team
.”Anddoes life imitate
art for thismethodactor?Coopersays the
onlybachelorpartyhehasattendedwasa
golf outingwithfiveguys inPalmSprings.
The acting bug bit earlywhenCooper
experienced theproverbial “ahamoment”
whilewatching the1980film
TheElephant
Man
. “Ibecameentrancedand fell in love
with thisfilmwhen Iwasakid,”heexplains.
“Itwasn’t evenaquestion; I alwaysknew I
wanted tobeanactor.” Ironically, thefilm
basedon the truestoryof JosephMerrick, a
severely deformedman in l9th-century
London,wouldbeCooper’s thesisperfor-
mancemany years later at NewYork’s
Circle in the Square.
As thesonofa formerMerrillLynchstock-
brokerand thegrandsonofaPhiladelphiabeat
cop,Cooperrealized thatactingwasnotexactly
a logicalprogressionafterstudyingatVillanova
andGeorgetown. It’sunlikely thecharming
andcharismaticyoungman thought he
wouldeventuallyhost
SaturdayNight Live
orbe included in
People
magazine’s“Sexiest
ManAlive” issueeither.Aftergraduating from
thehonorsEnglishprogramatGeorgetown,he
enrolledat theNewSchoolUniversity’sActors
StudioDramaSchoolandnever lookedback.
Whilehis impressiverésumérevealsroles
onboth thesmallandbigscreen, becominga
stardidnothappenovernight.Oneof thepart
Irish/part Italianactor’sfirstbigbreakscame
whenproducerDarrenStarcasthim (ina
basementofallplaces)oppositeSarahJessica
Parkeron the iconicseries
Sexand theCity
in
l999andasaregular inStar’sseries
The$treet
in2000.Afterstarring inNewYork-basedroles
on television’s
LawandOrder
,hemoved toLos
Angeles and landed the coveted part as
JenniferGarner’sBFFWillTippinonABC’s
Alias
,
followedby theroleofAidanStoneon
thecontroversialFXseries
Nip/Tuck.
Filmgoers rememberhisperformancesas
the jerkboyfriendZachary“Sack”Lodge
alongsideVinceVaughnandOwenWilson in
WeddingCrashers
(2005), “Faceman” in the
big-screenreincarnationof the ’80s television
series
TheA-Team
(2010),and thecultclassic
Wet Hot American Summer
(2001).Withhis
chiseledbodyandpiercingblue eyes, he
foundsuccessasa leadingman inHollywood,
not in the typical eye-candy,Hollywood-hunk
waybut through thebackdoor of comedy.
Whilehedidn’t necessarilystartasacome-
dian, “Iknowwhat I think is funny. Iknow
there ismusic tocomedy,and Iget this inmy
rolesbyosmosis,”heexplains.
Cooper isnostranger toserious rolesei-
ther.He recentlystarredoppositeRobertDe
Niro (anactorhegrewup idolizing) in the
thriller
Limitless
,whereheplaysastruggling
writerwho takesadrug that enablesapower
forunlimitedsuccess
.
Healsostarred infilms
featuringAcademyAwardwinnersNatalie
Portman in
NewYork, I LoveYou
(2009),
SandraBullock in
AllAbout Steve
(2009), and
JuliaRoberts in the love-story ensemble
Valentine’sDay
(2010). Inaddition, hehas
sharedscreen timewithsomeofHollywood’s
most attractive ladies, includingRenée
Zellweger, Scarlett Johansson, Rachel
McAdams, andJenniferConnelly.Healso
calleduponhis theater rootsandconquered
stage frightonBroadway, playingalongside
JuliaRoberts in
ThreeDays of Rain
(an
actingprocesshe foundmuchharder than
filmor television).
Whenhe isnotworkingonhis craft,
sportsareanotherpassion inhis life. (Perhaps
it’s in thegenes, ashis late father, Charles,
playedhoopsatVillanova.)Acollegemedalist
on themen’sheavyweight crew teamat
Georgetown, his loveof theoutdoorsand
travelwasput togooduseashost of
Treks in
aWildWorld
,wherehisadventures tookhim
fromglacierclimbing in thePeruvianAndes to
kayaking inAlaska. Filmingoften takesan
actorallover theglobe,andasCooperpoints
out, “Luckily Ihavea jobwhere Iget to travel,
as Iama travelerbynature.”
Weekendsmayfindhimplaying tennis,
mountainbiking in theLosAngelescanyons,
or spending timewithhis rescue dog,
Charlotte.Cooperadopted thedog froma
shelter inComptonwhileworkingon the
show
Alias
and feels it’s important to rescue
olderdogs.Cooking isalsoa favoritepastime,
asheworked in restaurants thefirsthalf of
his life.Theexperiencecame inhandywhen
hewascastasJackBourdain, aonce-famous
COVER STORY
Happy to Be Here
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TheA-Team
Limitless
TheHangover
Valentine’sDay
WeddingCrashers
TheHangover Part II
