Bradley Cooper spoke about his battle with drug and alcohol addiction on the "SmartLess" podcast.- Cooper said that a conversation with
Will Arnett helped him change his life and get sober.
Bradley Cooper said that Will Arnett helped him get sober after he got addicted to drugs and alcohol in the early 2000s.
On Monday, Cooper appeared on Arnett's podcast "SmartLess" — which Arnett cohosts with Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes — to talk about his career and upcoming movie "Maestro." During the conversation, Cooper talked about battling addiction and insecurity at the beginning of his career while he shared an apartment with Arnett.
The "Nightmare Alley" actor said that he had "zero self-esteem" at the time and thus tried to mimic the "mean humor" of popular comedians to appear confident. However, Arnett changed Cooper's life by having a difficult conversation with him following a particularly unpleasant experience at a dinner party.
"Will was like, 'Hey man, do you remember we had dinner the other night? How do you think that went?'" Cooper recalled. "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 was like 'I thought it was great. I thought I was killing.' Will Arnett was like, 'You were a real asshole, man. You were a real asshole.'"
Arnett then questioned if he had taken his dogs out to use the bathroom.
Cooper continued: "That was the first time I ever realized I had a problem with drugs and alcohol. The guy that I think is doing mean humor is telling me the truth and it changed my entire life."
The "A Star is Born" said that he wasn't aware of how he was hurting others with his behavior and explained that he felt "worthless" at the time.
"I was so lost, and I was addicted to cocaine," Cooper explained. "Will took that risk of having that hard conversation with me in, like, July of 2004 and that put me on a path of deciding to change my life. It truly was Will Arnett. he is the reason."
Cooper said that therapy and having his daughter Lea with his ex-girlfriend Irina Shayk has helped him stay sober.
"Everything changed," he said. "Every single thing is absolutely shaded by or brought out in glorious colors by the fact that I get to be a father to a wonderful human being. It's just the absolute greatest thing."
Arnett also commented on the podcast about seeing his long-time friend get sober.
"It has been awesome seeing you in this place and seeing you comfortable, nothing has made me happier," Arnett said. "It's made me happy to see you so happy with who you are."