Bradley Cooper Aims To Join Ben Affleck In The Oscar-Beloved Ranks Of Actors Turned Directors

Thu, 02/28/2013 - 13:42 by Alexander

Well, that didn’t take long.

Just after earning acclaim and Academy Award recognition as the leading man in Silver Linings Playbook, there’s one director Bradley Cooper really wants to work with: himself.

In one of several upcoming films he’s starring in as Hollywood’s newly legit leading man, Bradley is also setting his sights on directing… maybe.

The project is a remake of the 2011 German film Kokowaah, about a writer who discovers he has an 8-year-old daughter he never knew about thanks to a one night stand. (It’s safe to assume the film will be retitled for American audiences.)

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According to Deadline, Bradley is looking to make his directorial debut, and this film could be the one he selects for his initial outing. Of course, he’ll have to find the time with a huge slate of upcoming projects, including everything from The Hangover III to two new movies with Jennifer Lawrence to The Place Beyond The Pines to Cameron Crowe’s next movie, amongst others.

While some of these are shot awaiting release and others are still in development, does Bradley run the risk of being overexposed? It happens sometimes to It Boys of the moment ― remember back when Jude Law was in so many movies, everyone just got tired of him for about five years?

Stepping behind the camera might be one way to combat this, except that Bradley is also starring in the movie, which only gives him more exposure. When Ben Affleck stepped behind the scenes, his acting career was in a much less in-demand place, and he didn’t even star in his debut Gone Baby Gone (he cast his brother).

Of course, many actors-turned-directors have very successfully starred in their own movies. Mel Gibson in Braveheart, Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves. Hello, Oscars! But many actor/directors seem most successful when they cast themselves in smaller roles, or not at all: George Clooney’s Good Night, And Good Luck got plenty of Oscar attention when he played only a smaller part, as opposed to his Leatherheads. Sean Penn did well directing but not starring in Into The Wild. And while Clint Eastwood has had plenty of success in both roles, films like Mystic River, Letters from Iwo Jima, and Invictus prove that his star power isn’t needed to result in Oscar nominations. (Even Million Dollar Baby was dominated more by Hilary Swank’s performance than Clint’s.)

Despite Argo’s Best Picture win, Ben Affleck was nowhere close to nominated for his acting, since his performance was one of the weakest aspects of that movie.

If we had some helpful advice, we might suggest Bradley direct something he isn't starring in, to start, as Ben and George did. It's always best to play it safe when so much is at stake, right?

Do you think Bradley has directing chops?

Photos Courtesy of Fameflynet

1 Comments

AliceAnn (not verified)

So we are back on the 'take jabs at Ben' bandwagon. Even in an Article about Bradley. Ben Affleck gave a magnificent performance and it was the strongest of the film 'Argo' and he should have been nominated. He is a Great actor and has always been. He is an amazingly talented man who is an actor, director, writer and producer and he should be given the praise he deserves. Very disappointing so many still want to lessen him instead of lifting him to where he belongs. As for me, I am already sick of Bradley Cooper. Hangover I was funny, Hangover II a mess and Playbook a good movie for it's ensemble cast, not Bradley s performance. Be fair, Ben is a better actor than Bradley, he is a better actor than George!

Fri, 03/01/2013 - 04:35