Bradley Cooper is opening up about helping Brooke Shields through one of the scariest times in her life.
Bradley Cooper has been in the entertainment industry for more than two decades. He first gained recognition as Will Tippin in the television series Alias, also appearing in the 2001 cult classic Wet Hot American Summer.
Having such a long and prosperous career, it’s rare that you don’t see any negative headlines about such a big name. Still, over the years, Cooper has been regarded as a great guy by both fans and fellow actors.
It’s no secret that Bradley values kindness, having quite the visceral reaction to being treated poorly by others in the industry. While appearing on an episode of Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes’ podcast SmartLess, he told a story about one interaction that really upset him.
Though he didn’t name names, the A Star Is Born actor recalled a time when others in the industry tried to shame him for his award nominations.
While Cooper and an actress were talking to a famous director, the director said to Bradley, “What world are we living in where you have seven nominations and she’s only got three?”
“I’m like, ‘Bro, why are you such an a**hole?’” he told the SmartLess hosts. “I would never f***ing forget that. Go f*** yourself.”
Cooper went on to tell another story where a “hero female actress” of his made a tasteless comment when he was nominated for his role in Silver Linings Playbook.
“She’s like, ‘I saw your movie. You deserve the nom,’” Bradley explained. “I was like, ‘What? I’m sorry, what?’ ‘The nom.’”
He continued, “Then like 10 or 20 minutes later—I’m not kidding—I passed her going to the bathroom and she mouths it, ‘The nom.’ I remember [thinking], what the f*** is this town?’ Can you imagine saying that to somebody? You’ve got to be f***ed up to do that.”
With these experiences in mind, it’s no surprise that Cooper takes kindness seriously. He recently reflected on an instance when he was able to help a fellow actress in her time of need by being in the right place at the right time.
Earlier this month, Brooke Shields referred to Bradley Cooper as her “guardian angel.”
The actress revealed in a recent Glamour interview that Cooper sat with her in the ambulance after she suffered a generalized seizure. The health scare happened before performing her one-woman show, Previously Owned by Brooke Shields, in New York City at Café Carlyle.
The actress said of the incident that she went “headfirst into the wall” and started “frothing at the mouth, totally blue, trying to swallow my tongue.”
“The next thing I remember, I’m being loaded into an ambulance. I have oxygen on,” Shields recalled. “And Bradley f***ing Cooper is sitting next to me holding my hand.”
“I couldn’t really get any words out,” the star continued. “But I thought to myself, ‘This is what death must be like.’ You wake up and Bradley Cooper’s going, ‘I’m going to go to the hospital with you, Brooke,’ and he’s holding my hand…and I’m like, ‘This is odd and surreal.'”
At the 2023 Gotham Awards on Monday night, Cooper reacted to Shields’ praise and that horrifying experience.
“I was happy to be in the right place at the right time,” he told Extra at the event.
Bradley Cooper and Brooke Shields previously starred in the 2008 horror film The Midnight Meat Train together. In the years since, the two have remained friends, and now, they have an even more serious experience to bond them together.
Bradley was joined on the red carpet at the Gotham Awards by his Maestro costar Carey Mulligan. He also co-wrote and directed the film and was honored at the event with the Gotham Cultural Icon & Creator Tribute.
As it turns out, the restaurant Brooke collapsed at originally tried to contact Shields’ husband, Chris Henchy, but he did not respond. Multiple assistants got involved and Cooper ended up being contacted as he happened to be in the area.
“His assistant called Bradley and said, ‘Brooke’s on the ground. Chris isn’t around. Go get her,’” Shields said. “And he came and somebody called the ambulance. And then it was like, I walked in with Jesus.”
According to Shields, the seizure was triggered by low sodium and because she “drank too much water.”
“I flooded my system and I drowned myself,” she continued. “And if you don’t have enough sodium in your blood or urine or your body, you can have a seizure.
“So as a 58-year-old woman, I’m not limiting my salt, OK?” Brooke said. “Stop trying to make me a crazy actress or a female that doesn’t know what the f***ing they’re doing.”
“I was drinking too much water because I felt dehydrated because I was singing more than I’ve ever sung in my life and doing a show and a podcast. So they were just like, ‘Eat potato chips every day,’” the actress explained.
Elsewhere in her Glamour interview, Shields talked about embracing the attitude she has now–which is different than how she’s conducted herself throughout the years.
“At this point I literally have such a f***ing attitude,” she told the interviewer unapologetically. “That I’ve never had in my life. And it’s sort of very liberating.”
She also talked about how her beauty standards have changed over the years. After so much time trying to live up to something impossible, Brooke admitted that she’s tired of trying to be something she’s not.
“I love food and I love alcohol and I love life and I want to be healthy for my heart,” she said. “I don’t like going to the gym. I like Pilates.”
Shields continued, “That’s where I am. And I am tired of not feeling skinny enough. It’s boring and it’s a waste of my time.”
“I wish stuff was a little higher, and I have a bit of a belly that I never had, and I could lose it if I really, really wanted to try, but I would rather spend that time having lunch, reading a book, walking, buying a piece of jewelry, going to my daughter’s games,” Brooke said.
“I don’t think I could have gotten here earlier,” she admitted about her body acceptance. “It’s a process. You really have to tread through it. I wish I could say it was a lot earlier than recently.”