Bradley Cooper Is Unrecognizable as Leonard Bernstein in ‘Maestro’

Complete transformation. Bradley CooperIn the first photos of his new Netflix film, he is completely unrecognizable as Leonard Bernstein, the legendary composer. Maestro.

The streaming service released a sneak peek at the upcoming biopic — which the Licorice Pizza actor, 47, co-wrote and directed — on Monday, May 30, which give fans a look at Cooper portraying different periods in the famed conductor’s life. He and his costar are seen together in one still. Carey Mulligan, who plays Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre, are grinning in a theater, while another shows Bernstein framing a shot while on the set of one of his films.

But, it was Cooper’s photos as an older Bernstein who sparked social media fury. “The makeup on Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro is INSANE,” one Twitter user wroteAnother predicted that the project would be a success and earn him critical acclaim. “Bradley Cooper is going for that Oscar. He completely transforms physically to Leonard Bernstein,” the second user wrote.

Maestro is Cooper’s first film co-written and directed after the 2018 remake. A Star is BornThe actor shared his long-held dream in January, revealing that he had been waiting to get into the role. West Side Story composer’s shoes. “I wanted to be a conductor since I was a kid. I was obsessed with it, asked Santa Claus for a baton when I was 8,” the Pennsylvania native told Mahershala AliIn January during a conversation Variety’s Actors on Actors series. “Listening to music, falling in love with it and being able to really know every single moment of a piece … I could do it as if I know everything about it without really being able to speak the language, obviously.”

Thought Stephen SpielbergAlthough he was initially set to direct the film, the Oscar nominee took over the project. “He had this biopic idea and was talking to me about potentially acting in it. … And I said, ‘Listen, all I want to do is write and direct movies. I have always felt that I could be a conductor. But, may I research the material to see if it is possible for me to write it and direct it. Would you allow me to do that?’” he recalled.

Cooper continued: “I think he knew he wasn’t going to make that movie for a while. He was kind enough to hand it off to me,And that’s what I’ve been doing for the last four and a half years, and we start shooting in May.”

Maestro, which centers on Bernstein’s decades-long marriage to Montealegre, also stars Maya Hawke and Matt Bomer. The film is expected to be released in early 2023.