Bradley Cooper says he almost quit acting before being offered Licorice Pizza role

‘The reason that I didn’t give up acting is Paul Thomas Anderson,’ said the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ star

Bradley Cooper has revealed that he almost quit acting before Paul Thomas Anderson offered him a role in the new movie Licorice Pizza.

The actor, who has enjoyed global success with films including Silver Linings Playbook, A Star is Born and Guardians of the Galaxy, suggested in a new conversation with Mahershala Ali that he had been on the brink of giving up his trade a few years ago.

“The reason that I didn’t give up acting is Paul Thomas Anderson,” said Cooper.

“When he called me to, maybe, be in his movie, Mahershala, I mean really, I think I’d open up a door in his movie. I’d do anything.”

Licorice Pizza centres on the turbulent relationship between street-savvy child actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) and the older Alana (Alana Haim) in the 1970s. Cooper appears in a supporting capacity, playing real-life film producer Jon Peters.

The American Sniper star, who can also currently be seen in the Guillermo del Toro noir Nightmare Alley, elaborated on what it was like to work under Anderson.

“I watched all the camera tests. He was teaching me all about lenses, things I never knew,” he said.

As well as being an actor, Cooper also received considerable acclaim for his debut as a director, 2018’s A Star is Born remake.