He’s not his character. Bradley Cooper was one of the many stars who showed up to support Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention last week, and the 41-year-old said he was surprised by the backlash from fans of his 2014 film American Sniper.
The Oscar-nominated actor played late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who served four tours in Iraq before he was shot and killed by a former Marine suffering from PTSD. The real Kyle, as well as the movie’s director, Clint Eastwood, are both known for their right-wing views.
When Cooper was spotted in the audience with his girlfriend, Irina Shayk, and his mother, Gloria Campano, at the Philadelphia event, some conservatives who loved his role as the war veteran were outraged.
The Joy actor addressed the controversy during his appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden Tuesday, August 2. “I was not expecting that. I took my mom, and we went to hear the President speak,” he said of Barack Obama’s address on the third day of the convention. “It was just unbelievable.”
“The Republicans were up in arms that I was there listening to the President speak,” he continued, adding that Obama as the commander in chief has been an “incredible.”
Hangover director Todd Phillips, who joined Cooper on the late-night show, joked, “That’s like the mob being mad at [Robert] De Niro for being in The Intern.”
Earlier this week, Kyle’s widow, Taya, joined Fox News as a contributor. She will comment on military and family issues on shows across the network.
