Bradley Cooper had a pretty great 2014, eh? Warner Bros. slid “American Sniper” into the awards season last year and America turned out in droves to see the film, which went on to become the top domestic grosser of the year (beating out the likes of “The Hunger Games” and Marvel's powerhouse offerings – that's impressive). Cooper also picked up an Oscar nod for Best Actor and threatened to steal the prize from frontrunners Eddie Redmayne and Michael Keaton. He'll have to settle for an MTV Movie Award…and all those checks that will continue to land in his mailbox as producer of the film, of course.
Cooper won the Best Male Performance award Sunday night, which is sort of a surprise and sort of not. After all, as mentioned, it was the top grosser of the year. And Cooper is a favorite with this crowd, having won a pair of honors for “Silver Linings Playbook” a few years ago and having landed eight nominations to date. But he also beat out the likes of Chris Pratt (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Ansel Elgort (already a winner along with Shailene Woodley for Best Kiss in favorite “The Fault in Our Stars”), Channing Tatum (“Foxcatcher,” but as if that was gonna happen) and Miles Teller (“Whiplash,” ditto).
“American Sniper,” which is on the brink of finally wrapping up its theatrical run, has grossed over $347 million since its Christmas Day limited release. Cooper dedicated his prize to the late Chris Kyle, who he plays in the film and who would have turned 41 last week.
More from the MTV Movie Awards as it happens. Be sure to keep track of the winners here and follow along with our live blog here.