Bradley Cooper Held At Knifepoint In New York City
Bradley Cooper was almost stabbed in New York City!
According to Bradley Cooper, he’s gotten “way too comfortable” in New York City. At least, that’s what the actor said on a podcast that aired yesterday. The actor was recalling when he was threatened at knifepoint on the New York City subway.
The Oscar-nominated actor and director talked about the incident on Dax Shepard’s latest episode of the Armchair Expert podcast. Early in the interview, the subject turns to how listening to music through headphones in public potentially makes us vulnerable, which reminded Bradley Cooper of the October 2019 incident. Cooper told Shepard and Armchair Expert cohost Monica Padman he was on his his way to pick up his daughter Lea de Seine from school. He said he was all the way at the end of a subway station, leaning against a post, when he felt someone else’s presence.
Bradley Cooper said he wasn’t concerned at first. He thought a fan had recognized him and wanted an autograph or maybe a selfie. But when he turned to face his assailant — who the actor described as looking surprisingly young — Cooper looked down and saw a knife. Music was playing over his headphones, and he couldn’t hear if the man said anything. The actor said “I just started booking, I just started running.” He continued, saying he jumped over the turnstile and hid near the entrance. The man with the knife followed, but ran away rather than after Cooper. The actor said he took a picture of the man and followed him up the stairs to the surface. His attacker ran down 7th Avenue and Cooper was able to snap two more photos of him as he fled.
Cooper was able to get the attention of two NYPD officers, who warned him to make sure he wasn’t stabbed. Bradley Cooper explained that the police said in situations like his, victims are often stabbed and don’t even realize it because they’re in shock. He said once he confirmed he hadn’t been cut, he went back to the subway and picked up his daughter.
While thankfully, in real life, Bradley Cooper managed to escape becoming part of a horror story, his character in the upcoming Nightmare Alley isn’t quite so lucky. Cooper joins an impressive cast in the film including Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Toni Collette, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, David Strathairn, and more. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Nightmare Alley is a psychological thriller starring Cooper as a man pretending to be a psychic, and his con-artistry leads to horrific consequences.
After Nightmare Alley, Bradley Cooper is expected to return to his voice-acting role of Rocket Raccoon at least twice more — for next year’s Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Writer/Director James Gunn has said Guardians 3 will be his last in the series. Whether Rocket continues to appear in Marvel’s films and/or TV shows, or if Cooper voices him, only time will tell.
After voicing everyone’s favorite trash panda, Bradley Cooper will be returning to doing double duty as actor and director in Maestro. The biopic will star Cooper as famous conductor Leonard Bernstein, with Carey Mulligan playing his spouse Felicia Montealegre. Maestro does not yet have a release date.
