(CBR) Every bit of goodwill I have for Bradley Cooper stems from “Alias”. His work as intrepid reporter and hopeless romantic Will Tippin remains my all-time favorite Cooper performance, and one of my favorite TV characters ever. I suspect I”m not alone on that. I also suspect I”m not the only one devastated to learn Cooper hated working on the series.
In an interview with GQ, Cooper spoke at length about his early days as an actor, and his two-season stint on the J.J. Abrams spy drama. Despite a strong story arc for Tippin throughout Season 1, Cooper felt the role diminished as time went along.
“I would only work three days a week,” he said. “And then for the second season, I got even more sidelined. I was like, ‘Ugh.” And then next thing you know, I was like, ‘I want to fucking kill myself.””
Cooper said he was so unsatisfied with the work, that he asked Abrams to write Tippin off the show after the second season. “J.J. was like, ‘OK,”” he recalled. “He probably would”ve fired me, anyway.”
Of course, it all worked out for Cooper in the end. He”s been nominated for Oscars and Golden Globes, has achieved box-office heights through “The Hangover” series, and he even returned to “Alias” for some fun, memorable guest roles here and there. But it”s a sad look at what I always imagined was a fun role for Cooper. Sometimes, you just don”t want to know how the sausage gets made.
(via The Hollywood Reporter)