Bradley Cooper has revealed that he directed his new Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro in character as the late conductor, having been inspired by Christian Bale’s method in 2013’s American Hustle.
Speaking to fellow director Spike Lee in an interivew for Variety, Cooper recalled being impressed by Bale’s commitment to staying in character.
“American Hustle was the first time I saw an actor stay in the voice of a character,” he said. “It was Christian Bale. I had heard stories about Daniel Day-Lewis. I couldn’t figure out how someone could do that. Then I realised I was overthinking it.
“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.”
Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale in ‘American Hustle’. Credit: Sony
Lee then asked Cooper – who also stars as Bernstein in Maestro – if he gave instructions on set while staying in character.
“Yes,” replied Cooper. “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. And then when I was old Lenny, it had a slower gear. If you ask the crew or cast, Lenny directed the movie.”
Elsewhere, Cooper recently revealed that he spent six years learning how to conduct for Maestro. The result was six minutes of music that he recorded to use for one of the film’s final scenes.
“That scene I was so worried about because we did it live,” Cooper said at the event (via IndieWire). “That was the London Symphony Orchestra. I was recorded live. I had to conduct them. And I spent six years learning how to conduct six minutes and 21 seconds of music.”
“I was able to get the raw take where I just watched Leonard Bernstein [conduct] at Ely Cathedral with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1976. And so I had that to study,” he added. “[Metropolitan Opera director] Yannick Nézet-Séguin made videos with all the tempo changes, so I had all of the materials to just work on.”
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