Bradley Cooper’s transformation into Leonard Bernstein for Maestro looked impressive when set photos started leaking last year, but now fans can finally see him in action in the movie’s first trailer.
Cooper, 48, stars as the legendary conductor in the upcoming Netflix drama, which hits theaters on November 22. The trailer focuses on Bernstein’s relationship with wife Felicia Montealegre, whom he married in 1951. Carey Mulligan stars as Montealegre, who died of lung cancer in 1978 at age 56.
The clip shows Bernstein and Montealegre playing a guessing game at various points in their life together. “So how long do we have to do this for?” Bernstein asks his wife, who replies, “Oh, we need to build up a very strong connection.”
Cooper directed and cowrote Maestro, which will have its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in September. The movie also stars Maya Hawke as Bernstein and Montealegre’s daughter, Jamie, and Michael Urie as choreographer Jerome Robbins.
Cooper’s physical transformation for the role has made plenty of headlines, with some critics questioning the use of a larger prosthetic nose to play Bernstein, who was Jewish. The film’s makeup artist is Kazu Hiro, who has won two Oscars for his work on 2017’s Darkest Hour and 2019’s Bombshell.
Cooper, for his part, has said that he was inspired to make a movie about Bernstein because he wanted to be a conductor as a child.
“It’s been four and a half years in the making and I feel very grateful,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in early 2022. “I just did all this research about this incredible family, the Bernsteins, and Felicia Montealegre, [Leonard’s] wife. Their relationship — fascinating — and the kids. They’re so articulate about their feelings. There’s the movie; a movie about marriage, a movie about family. That’s it. Why is it nuclear? Because it’s this f–king music. Music is nuclear. I had a secret weapon in A Star Is Born. It was Lady Gaga. The secret weapon I have in this movie is f–king Leonard Bernstein and Gustav Mahler. The music!”
Few people have seen Maestro yet, but it’s already garnering Oscar buzz for 2024. Cooper’s last directorial effort, A Star Is Born, earned eight Academy Award nominations, including best picture and a best director nod for Cooper. The film lost in both of those categories, but Gaga, 37, and her cowriters took home the prize for best original song.
Maestro premieres in theaters on November 22 and will be available to stream via Netflix on December 20.
