Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are currently on a press tour for their movie, A Star Is Born, which Cooper wrote, directed, and co-starred in. With every interview, it becomes more apparent that these two stars hold each other in high esteem and that there is this underlying friendship that grounds their affection for each other. But it was Cooper’s voice that truly blew Gaga away.
People’s Jess Cagle had them on the couch. Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, wore a one-shoulder deep burgundy velvet dress, while Cooper wore a black blazer and jeans. As they told their story for the umpteenth time, they still got excited about how they met and the almost instantaneous connection that they had right off the bat.
Lady Gaga said that Cooper had been to one of her concerts the night before and then came to see her at her home in Malibu the following day. She said that she heated up some leftover pasta as they got to know each other. Cooper told Cagle that he saw the white piano and had an idea that they could sing together. The song was called “Midnight Special” and Lady Gaga had never heard it before, but she printed it out and started playing.
“I started to play and he started to sing. And I just stopped playing and I looked over at him and I said, ‘Oh my gosh! Bradley, your voice! You have a voice, you can sing! Oh my gosh!’”
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Cooper got so excited that they started to film the song as they harmonized and sang together. One take was all it took and he knew that he had found Ally, the female lead of A Star Is Born. Cooper even showed Warner Brothers the homemade video. According to Independent , they gave Cooper $38 million before marketing costs.
Cooper thought Gaga was plutonium. The duo honed their artistic skills and committed themselves to this movie. He learned to play the guitar and the piano, “enough to be a professional musician” and Gaga learned to act. He wanted the movie to be authentic so that it would resonate with audiences, and with Stefani, as he calls the singer.
“But it really wasn’t until I met Stefani, that I, that I knew that okay now I’m ready to strap on the oxygen tank, go hand-in-hand with her, and let’s go up the hill.”
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That first meeting between the two leads turned out to be a pivotal moment for both. It set the tone of their friendship, as they learned that they could push each other into awkward spaces. It also laid the foundation for a friendship both say will last for the rest of their lives.
“I really, truly knew in that moment that he’s the only actor in the world that could play a rock star.”
A Star Is Born was released on October 5, 2018.