Bradley Cooper has revealed the lengths he took to accurately portray composer Leonard Bernstein in the film "Maestro."
The actor appeared at a Los Angeles screening of the film which included a conversation moderated by actor Lin-Manuel Miranda. Speaking at the event, Cooper elaborated on a scene in which Bernstein famously conducted the 1976 London Symphony Orchestra in Ely Cathedral.
"That scene I was so worried about because we did it live," he said, according to 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."
Cooper, who also directed and co-wrote the film, recalled studying original footage of Bernstein conducting at the event to ensure he could deliver an authentic performance.
"It was really about dialing exactly what I wanted cinematically and then inviting them into then inhabit that space and trusting that they have all done the work," he said. "Because I think that I knew, I was terrified, absolutely terrified that if I hadn’t done the work that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself in these scenes. And everybody did."
Earlier this year, Cooper faced criticism for wearing a prosthetic nose to play Bernstein, who was Jewish, in "Maestro."
The backlash arose when the first trailer for the film emerged. Cooper and co-star Carey Mulligan, who plays Bernstein's wife, both wore prosthetic noses in order to play older versions of their characters. However, Cooper was criticized for promoting a Jewish stereotype by wearing a fake nose that appears to be larger than Bernstein’s actual nose.
Amid the outrage, Bernstein's own family defended the choice, accoridng to CNN.
"Maestro" will have a limited theatrical release on Nov. 22 before it starts streaming on Netflix in December.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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