Bradley Cooper Reveals He Was ‘Addicted To Cocaine’ In His 20s

Bradley Cooper got candid about his struggles with addiction.

The 47-year-old actor appeared on the latest episode of the SmartLess podcast co-hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes, where he opened up about a moment early in his career when he completely hit rock bottom. According to Bradley, it came after he was let go from the action-thriller series Alias in the early 2000s during his battle with substance abuse:

“I was so lost and I was addicted to cocaine — that was the other thing. I severed my Achilles tendon right after I got fired/quit ‘Alias.’”

It also did not help that The Silver Linings Playbook star had “zero self-esteem” at the time, only adding to his issues with addiction in the beginning of his career. He recalled:

“I did have the benefit of that happening when I was 29. I thought I made it when I got a Wendy’s commercial. In terms of the ‘made it’ thing, that’s when I made it. But I definitely did not feel [it], moving to Los Angeles for ‘Alias’ feeling like I was back in high school. I could not get into any clubs, no girls wanted to look at me.”

So during that time, Bradley admitted, he “was totally depressed,” adding:

“It wasn’t really until The Hangover. I was 36 when I did The Hangover, so I got to go through all those things before fame even played into my existence on a daily level. So all that happened before any of that.”

Will then chimed in, noting that the A Star Is Born director “having those realizations and having that change allowed” him to be his true self. To which Bradley replied:

“It’s true. I definitely made major breakthroughs at 29 to 33, 34, where at least I was able to stand in front of somebody and breathe and listen and talk.”

Ultimately, he credited Will – who has been open about suffering from alcoholism – for having a conversation with him about his addiction in July 2004 that set him on a “path of deciding to change my life.” Bradley remembered he was living next to the 52-year-old comedian and had gone out to dinner with him and some friends during a time where he often tried to mimic the “mean” type of humor other comedians portrayed at the time. And shortly after the night out, Will stopped by the filmmaker’s place to give him a wake up call:

“Will was like, ‘Hey man, do you remember we had dinner the other night? How do you think that went?’ I was like, ‘I remember being at the dinner thinking I was so funny, and I thought these two guys who were my heroes thought that I was so funny.’ I thought it was great. I thought I was killing.”

However, Will did not feel the same way. Cooper recalled him saying:

“‘You were a real a**hole, man. You were a real a**hole.’”

He continued:

“That was the first time I ever realized I had a problem with drugs and alcohol. And it was Will saying that to me, and I’ll just never forget it. The guy that I think is doing mean humor is telling me the truth, and it changed my entire life.”

The Arrested Development alum then gushed about how he has loved seeing a “difference” in Bradley ever since then, expressing:

“It has been awesome seeing you in this place and seeing you comfortable. Nothing has made me happier. It’s made me happy to see you so happy with who you are.”

It is great to hear that Bradley is doing so well now. No doubt opening up and having such an important conversation about his past drug addition will be beneficial to someone who is also struggling with the same issue. You can ch-ch-check out his candid discussion HERE.

[Image via MEGA/WENN, Alias/Amazon Prime]