“I definitely think I am a private person. But you sort of have to give over to the fact that it’s impossible to be private these days. It’s more about acceptance of the reality instead of creating my own reality that doesn’t exist,” Hollywood actor-director Bradley Cooper told British director Stephen Daldry at BFI Southbank last night.
“I was shy and I still am shy.” It’s hard to believe given Cooper’s illustrious career in the spotlight, but his fear of public speaking started young, he says. “I had so much stage fright. The idea of getting in front of people and talking was like a nightmare but I always loved movies,” he said. At acting school, Cooper was “terrified” to ask Robert De Niro, who was visiting to give a talk, a question from the audience. “I thought everybody would laugh at me,” Cooper said.
