Why Bradley Cooper Was Jealous of Leonardo DiCaprio When They First Met
Bradley Cooper has become one of the biggest stars in the world. He’s boosted his profile with films like American Sniper, Wedding Crashers, and The Hangover, and now the Oscar-nominated actor is widely recognized for his talent. Before his rise to fame, however, Cooper was a young working grad student who just hoped to become a working actor, let alone a movie star.
While doing one of his odd jobs, Cooper revealed he had a chance encounter with Leonardo DiCaprio. And since he was around the same age as DiCaprio at the time, Cooper couldn’t help but compare himself to The Departed star.
Bradley Cooper worked as a hotel doorman when he got one of his first acting gigs
Leonardo DiCaprio might have been at the peak of his fame when he first met Cooper. But ironically, Cooper was still an unknown aspiring actor. While studying for his MFA at NYU, Cooper worked as a hotel doorman at New York’s Morgan Hotel. According to Huffpost, Cooper revealed the minutia of his work in an interview with David Letterman.
“There were three candles in the lobby and they said, ‘Always keep them lit,’” Cooper said. “But the door would open and they would go out so I spent most of my time trying to relight the candles.”
Here, Cooper would get one of his first acting gigs as a host for the Discovery channel travel show Globe Trekkers, which he did for three seasons.
Before he left behind his job as a doorman for his new acting gig, however, he had a random encounter with DiCaprio. And the encounter left enough of an impression that Cooper remembered it years later.
Bradley Cooper was jealous of Leonardo DiCaprio when they first met
Cooper admitted that his brief meeting with DiCaprio left him thinking about his own age and accomplishments. Especially when compared to DiCaprio’s at that time. According to Cosmopolitan, he briefly hosted the actor while he and his friends stopped by the hotel Cooper worked at. While hosting DiCaprio and his friends, Cooper felt a tiny hint of jealousy realizing just how far apart the two were in their lives.
“I remember taking Leonardo DiCaprio up to his room, and I was in the elevator with him and, like, seven of his friends. It was around the time of Titanic,” Cooper revealed. “And I remember this guy who looked like a kid, even though we were about the same age, he looked like a little boy. I remember thinking how I was three feet away from this guy, and we were worlds apart.”
Years later, after Cooper would experience his own level of superstardom, he’s still surprised that he and DiCaprio are pals.
“To this day, I can’t believe [I’m friends with him]. He’s infectious,” Cooper said. “You know when you’re with some of your friends and you start to act like them? That’s what he’s like. When you’re with him, you find yourself just starting to adopt some of those mannerisms through osmosis.”
Are Leonardo DiCaprio and Bradley Cooper still friends?
Leonardo DiCaprio and Bradley Cooper are reportedly still close. The two have been known to hang out with each other frequently. People reported that the two met up just to have lunch at a Malibu Sushi hotspot in Nobu. They’ve also been spotted enjoying each other’s company during their downtime in Malibu, California by Entertainment Weekly. Although at one point the A Star Is Born actor might have felt he and DiCaprio were worlds apart, it appears that their worlds have gotten a lot closer with time.
