Actors who make it big get a number of opportunities that inexperienced actors simply do not. These opportunities can lead to huge hits, but they can also lead to giant flops. It's a roll of the dice at the box office for big stars, and some movies can leave a permanent stain on someone's career.
Bradley Cooper has been a huge star for a while now, with his time in the Hangover movies and the MCU being major achievements. At one point, Cooper laid an egg at an audition, which wound up saving him from a disaster on the big screen.
So, which movie did a bad audition save Bradley Cooper from? Let's take a closer look at how things played out thanks to his lackluster audition.
Bradley Cooper Is A Major Star
At this stage in his career, Bradley Cooper is someone who has done a little bit of everything. The man has proven that he can hold his own in any genre, and as if that isn't impressive enough, he has proven to be a great actor, director, and even an impressive singer.
Cooper was not an immediate star, but once he was given the chance to shine, he was able to start stacking up some great credits. Cooper has been in movies like Wedding Crashers, The Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook, and A Star Is Born. Still not impressed? He also voices Rocket Raccoon in the MCU.
Clearly, Bradley Cooper has found a tremendous amount of success in his Hollywood journey, but this does not mean that Cooper has been immune from his fair share of misfires on the big screen.
He Has Had Some Lukewarm Films
Now, all actors will inevitably land in projects that underwhelm at the box office, but this does not take away from their overall accomplishments. Sure, some movies can seemingly ruin careers, but a box office dud does not always spell disaster.
In the case of Bradley Cooper, the accomplished performer does have a number of films that some fans would rather forget about. He has appeared in movies like The Comebacks, The Rocker, The A-Team, and Aloha. These movies weren't exactly massive hits, and they did not derail things entirely for the actor.
Earlier on in his career, Cooper was getting a lot of major opportunities, including the chance to audition for a superhero movie. As great as this sounds, the actor wound up blowing his audition, which caused him to miss out on what seemed like a golden opportunity at first.
A Bad Audition Saved Him From 'Green Lantern'
So, how bad of an audition did Bradley Cooper give for Green Lantern?
When speaking about the audition, Cooper said, "I did get a chance to try out for it, which was amazing to even get a chance. Ryan Reynolds got it—who, by the way, if I was directing the movie, I would cast him. He's perfect. He actually looks like a superhero."
Now, you might be wondering how a seasoned actor like Cooper would botch an audition, but as it turns out, he couldn't stop doing a Batman voice.
"I couldn't not do Christian Bale's Batman when I was doing the audition. I don't know what it was! I put a mask on and the director was like, 'Okay Bradley, be regular and talk.' And I was like, 'Yeah, got it... [in a deep, gravely Batman voice] listen, Sally, we're going to have to take your family away if you don't listen to me!' By the way, that's the worst Batman [impression] ever. I apologize," he revealed.
If you thought it ends there, you'd be mistaken. Not only did Cooper give a bad audition, but he wound up getting the chance to watch it over and really relish in how awful it was.
"At one point, I actually walked back and saw it, because they have it on the monitor while you're auditioning. I saw a little clip as they were rewinding it, and I thought, 'Oh my god, that can't be.' It looked like a Saturday Night Live sketch! I was like, 'Oh, I'm not getting this! Now I can really do my Batman! Who gives a s---?'"
While this might have sucked at the time, this wound up being a blessing for Cooper. Green Lantern is considered one of the worst modern superhero movies ever made, and it usually serves as little more than a punchline these days. Talk about dodging a giant emerald-colored bullet.