Bradley Cooper is on a roll - in addition to reportedly earning $15 million for the third Hangover movie, he has two Toronto Film Festival movies. One is 'Place Beyond the Pines' with Ryan Gosling, directed by Derek Cianfrance, and the other is the Weinstein Company's 'Silver Linings Playbook' with Jennifer Lawrence. In an revealing interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Cooper opens up about his addiction, which ended half a decade before the 'Hangover' made him an international star.
When he talks about it, Cooper says "I don't drink or do drugs at all anymore. Being sober helps a great deal."
He also relates an incident where he says, "I was at a party and deliberately bashed my head on the concrete floor -- like, 'Hey, look how tough I am!' And I came up, and blood dripped down. And then I did it again. I spent the night at St. Vincent's Hospital with a sock of ice, waiting for them to stitch me up."
He adds: "I was so concerned what you thought of me, how I was coming across, how I would survive the day. I always felt like an outsider. I just lived in my head. I realized I wasn't going to live up to my potential, and that scared the hell out of me. I thought, 'Wow, I'm actually gonna ruin my life; I'm really gonna ruin it.' "
He realized the effect that it was all having on his life, he made the conscious decision to become sober at the age of 29, and has stayed sober since. Originally, the part of Pat Peoples in 'Silver Linings' was going to go to Matt Wahlberg, but when he pulled out, Cooper became the first choice. Silver Linings Playbook releases November 21, 2012.
