Bradley Cooper Learned a Valuable Lesson About the Difference Between a Porsche and a Volkswagen on the Set of ‘Sex and the City’
Bradley Cooper is a superstar now, but in the late 1990s, he was a fledgling actor hoping to get his big break. Cooper thought his big break had come when he landed a small part on Sex and the City. There was one big problem for Cooper, though. The role required him to drive a manual transmission car. He enthusiastically insisted he could drive a manual to secure the part. He then immediately went to a driving school to learn how to drive stick since he didn’t actually know how. While he did reasonably well during his lessons, Cooper learned the difference between a Volkswagen and a vintage Porsche on the streets of New York City while filming his infamous scene.
Cynthia Nixon recalled Bradley Cooper’s time on the ‘Sex and the City’ set with a laugh
Cynthia Nixon appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and was happy to discuss Sex and the City and some of its more memorable moments. A fan asked Nixon about the most memorable guest stars, and she opted to regale the audience with a story about Bradley Cooper’s brief appearance on Sex and the City. Nixon shared how Cooper lied about being able to drive a stick shift to land the role of Jake in the infamous season 2 episode, “They Shoot Single People, Don’t They?”
Nixon wasn’t the first person to share the story. Bradley Cooper discussed his time on the set of Sex and the City back in 2012 with Backstage Magazine, and he also admitted to lying about his driving abilities. The famed actor told the publication that he lied about being able to drive a manual. Once he secured the role, he paid a driving school to teach him how to operate a stick shift.
While learning on the driving school’s Volkswagen, Cooper remembered feeling confident in his abilities. That confidence soon evaporated when he realized he was out of his depth when he jumped into the Porsche that had been secured for the scene. He told the publication, “I thought it went well when I learned on a Volkswagen, but then I was driving a 1962 Porsche convertible where the clutch was as if I was driving a bus.”
The ‘Sex and the City’ crew made things work
Coooper’s stunt didn’t cost him his part, but it did require Sex and the City to call in a stand-in. Instead of letting Cooper struggle to drive the vintage Porsche, a stand-in jumped in and drove off in the car. Cooper filmed all of the scenes that involved the car not moving.
While the part didn’t turn out to be Cooper’s big break, it was one of his more memorable small roles. Despite the actor appearing in flicks like The Hangover and American Sniper since his brief appearance in Sex and the City, it’s still a part Cooper is asked to discuss fairly regularly. He never shies away from the topic. Still, we think it’s safe to say he won’t appear in And Just Like That…
Cooper’s character, Jake, was an oddly forgettable almost-hookup of Carrie Bradshaw’s. He may have gotten a chance to go home with the blonde if he had played his cards right, but he did not. Cooper only appeared in that single season 2 episode.
