Brad Pitt presented an award to Bradley Cooper at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Thursday.
The Fight Club star, 60, gushed about his old friend while honoring him with the Best Performer of the Year award for his role in his ‘master’ film Maestro.
He joked that he and Cooper, 49, had “a couple things in common,” including “being a movie superstar and also a name.”
At the film festival, Pitt, who was recently hit by accusations of “volatile behavior” on the set of his 1994 film Legends of the Fall, downplayed the drama as he joined his friend.
During his speech, Pitt praised Cooper and said he knew his friend would be a star not after watching his many Oscar-nominated films, but when he saw his previous performance in the 2009 comedy film The Hangover.
Brad Pitt presented an award to Bradley Cooper at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Thursday
The Fight Club star, 60, gushed about his old friend while honoring him with the Best Entertainer of the Year award for his role in his ‘master’ film Maestro.
“You’ll see that the more irreverent Alan (Zach Galifianakis) becomes, the more Phil (Cooper) enjoys that irreverence,” he said during his speech according to a People report.
“It’s subtle,” he explained. “It’s often on the side of the frame, but it’s there and it’s interesting, and I know this sounds strange, but I was watching it and I know no one else would have contributed it.”
He said Cooper’s performance was “something new” and for that reason, “I knew this guy was going to be there.”
Pitt also talked about Cooper’s directorial debut, A Star Is Born, for which he wrote the screenplay and starred alongside Lady Gaga.
Because the film was made earlier, Pitt said “the bar is very high,” but Cooper did “very well.”
He praised Cooper’s ability to act incoherent, drunk and collapsing while carefully coordinating with the crew as they filmed certain scenes.
“To do that really well is nothing short of perfect,” he said.
Pitt also applauded Cooper for his role in the biographical romantic drama Maestro.
During his speech, Pitt praised Cooper and said he knew his friend would be a star not after watching his many Oscar-nominated films, but when he saw his previous performance in the 2009 comedy film The Hangover.
The stars posed with Cooper’s Maestro co-star Carey Mulligan.
The couple met when their respective Hollywood careers were beginning in the ’90s and ’00s. They grew closer in recent years as their careers matured.
While on stage, he joked that he and Cooper, 49, had “a couple things in common,” including “being a movie superstar and also a name.”
Cooper played Leonard Bernstein in the recent film, which he also directed and co-wrote, about the famous director and his love story with actress Felicia Montealegre.
He said he believed Cooper’s talent comes from “his voracious love for this little thing we call the human experience and all its struggles and joys and messes.”
‘My man is in this. “He doesn’t shy away from any evidence, and I think that’s what he infuses into every frame he puts on the screen,” he gushed.
Finally, he concluded his speech by talking about his friend at the upcoming Oscars, where Maestro is nominated for seven awards.
“He’s been nominated 12 times and I really hope this is his year, because he’s up for it,” she said. ‘But if it doesn’t, that’s okay. Everyone knows it’s just a matter of time.
He also called his friend “the one and only Bradley.”
During his acceptance speech, Cooper spoke of how filmmaking “changed his life” and “kept me alive.” Regarding his acting career, he said: “It’s a great privilege.”
“I can’t believe I can do it, I’m privileged and blessed,” he continued. At the end of his speech, he gave credit and thanked the people around him who gave him strength and love to achieve and believe in himself.
During his acceptance speech, Cooper spoke of how filmmaking “changed his life” and “kept me alive.”
Regarding his acting career, he said: “It’s a great privilege.”
“I can’t believe I can do it, I’m privileged and blessed,” he continued.
At the end of his speech, he gave credit and thanked the people around him who gave him strength and love to achieve and believe in himself.