Bradley Cooper Breaks Silence on 'Maestro' Prosthetic Nose Backlash, Reveals Reaction to Bernstein Kids' Public Support

Bradley Cooper is breaking his silence on the backlash surrounding the prosthetic nose he wore in his new film Maestro, where he portrays real-life composer Leonard Bernstein.

Following the release of Netflix‘s trailer for the film, many people on social media voiced complaints about the large nose prosthetic worn by the 48-year-old actor, complaining that it represented a stereotypical portrayal of a Jewish person.

“Did it catch you off guard, the backlash,” Gayle King asked him in an interview with CBS.

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He responded, “Nothing really catches me off guard. The truth is…I’d done this whole process out of love. And it’s so clear to me where I come from. My nose is very similar to Lenny’s, actually,” Bradley said.

About the choice, he continued, “I thought, ‘Maybe we don’t need to do it.’ But it’s all about balance, and, you know, my lips are nothing like Lenny’s, and my chin. And so we had that, and it just didn’t look right [without the prosthetic].”

Bradley then explained that the younger version of Leonardo Bernstein in the film had more minimal prosthetics used, but as he ages in the film, they had to add more to reflect the changing time. He continued, “By the time he’s older, it’s the whole face [that had prosthetics]…So we just had to do it, otherwise I wouldn’t believe he was a human being,” he said.

After the film’s first trailer was released, Leonard Bernstein‘s real life children, Jamie, Alexander and Nina Bernstein, wrote a letter in support of Bradley.

Part of that letter read, “Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father. We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music, and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration.”

Bradley recalled reading that letter.

“I read it, and I called Alex [Bernstein] to thank him, and I remember I called him on the phone, and I heard his voice…and then I couldn’t believe it, but this huge emotional exhalation came out, and I just was crying so hard. I couldn’t even thank him. And he started crying. And it was an incredible moment,” Bradley shared.

He continued of their gesture to write the public note, “It was very moving to me.”

The film will hit theaters on November 22 and debut on Netflix on December 20.