Bradley Cooper ‘embarrassed’ by Oscars Best Director nomination snub

“I felt embarrassed that I didn’t do my part.”

This was what Bradley Cooper told Oprah Winfrey when he apparently got snubbed from an Academy Award nomination for Best Director for his directorial debut “A Star is Born”.

In a clip of Winfrey’s upcoming interview with Cooper, posted on her YouTube channel on Wednesday, Feb. 6, the actor admitted that he was not surprised: “I’m never surprised about not getting nominated.”

However, Cooper told Winfrey that while having coffee in New York, a friend texted him congratulations about the nominations (the movie bagged seven in total), but did not tell him “the bad news” that he was not part of the Oscars Best Director nominees.

“And the first thing I felt was embarrassment, actually,” Cooper told Winfrey.

Lady Gaga’s advice to Cooper about his singing

Besides his directorial debut, “A Star is Born” is also Cooper’s first movie where he gets to sing. The actor then shared how his co-star, Lady Gaga, helped him with his singing.

Cooper recalled that while taping one scene in the movie where his character, Jackson, sings, Gaga advised him “Don’t try to sing it.”

“It was the best direction,” he said. “It’s just when I sing… like acting, I’m actually talking. When you talk, you’re telling a story. And then all of a sudden, all the words just come through without you trying to force it.”

The actor and Gaga are set to share the stage at the Oscars. They will perform “Shallow”, which is nominated for Best Original Song, at the awards night on Feb. 24, to be held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California. JB

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