Bradley Cooper's Hollywood Career Started With This Comedy Classic

Bradley Cooperhas come a long way since his debut in Hollywood. The award-winning actor has now earned numerous acting credits and diversified to roles behind the scenes, acting as a director and a producer.

Most fans might remember him for his enthralling performance in "A Star Is Born," playing a troubled musician who helped a young star find fame. Certainly, only a few will remember that the actor made his debut into the industry in a role that completely differs from his recent feature.

Cooper began his first movie role in a comedy flick directed by David Wain. Read on to get the details of the film.

Cooper has starred alongside a couple of beautiful and talented actresses during his rise to the top of Hollywood. In "A Star Is Born," he and Lady Gaga held fans captive with their sweet sonorous singing mixed with an emotional delivery of their script.

However, decades ago, Cooper starred with another actress, Amy Poehler, to make his acting debut in 2001's "Wet Hot American Summer." Back then, Wain and his colleague Michael Showalter wrote and directed the film, ultimately casting a bunch of greenhorns and veterans after the audition process.

The movie storyline followed the acts of teenage stars who were attending a fictional summer camp in the 1980s. Cooper portrayed Ben, an instructor who tried to stage a talent show for the teens to end the last day.

Most of Cooper's scenes in the movie placed him alongside his female co-star Poehler as they attempted to produce and choreograph the best talent show since the camp's inception. The satirical comedy also starred Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, and Elizabeth Banks.

Ultimately the film bombed commercially, failing to attract a distributor after its Sundance Film Festival premiere. On the upside, it gathered a cult following years later, which led to Netflix purchasing the rights to the film.

The streaming platform subsequently created two spin-offs series from the film dubbed "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" and "Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later." Cooper reprised his role as Ben for the former series, once again starring alongside Poehler.

After his debut in Wet Hot American Summer, Cooper diversified his acting choices by starring in several film and television roles. The actor played parts in the ABC drama "Alias," "Wedding Crashers," "Failure to Launch," "Yes Man," "He's Just Not That Into You," and many more.

He featured in these movies as a supporting cast regardless of how memorable most fans found his acting. However, it slowly pivoted him to the forefront of directors' and producers' choices, with the actor eventually having leading roles in 2010's films "The Hangover" and "Silver Linings Playbook."

For his role in the latter, Cooper achieved his first Academy nomination. It announced him as a bankable star and opened more acting doors to leading roles.

Following Cooper's first Academy nomination, he earned more nominations for the same prestigious award. The actor also clinched two Grammy Awards and appeared on Forbes Celebrity 100 and Time's list of the 100 most influential people on several occasions.

Despite his sterling performances in his array of acting credits, winning the Academy award continues to elude Cooper. However, looking at his upcoming features, the actor might just be sweeping home the prize any moment soon.

In 2022, Cooper will star in "Licorice Pizza" and "Nightmare Alley," with both films already making waves as an Academy award prospect. Additionally, the actor will star and direct another project titled "Maestro," another movie with the potential to give Cooper a long-awaited win.