‘Maestro’ star Bradley Cooper banned chairs on set, made controversial decisions as director

Bradley Cooper ran a strict set as director and star of his new film, “Maestro,” about the life and career of famed composer Leonard Bernstein.

In an interview with Spike Lee for Variety’s “Directors on Directors” series, Cooper said “When we shoot the movie, no one’s allowed on set,” before clarifying that producer Steven Spielberg was the exception. “Steven Spielberg came three times, but other than him, there’s nobody. It has to be a sanctuary.”

He also explained that making the transition from actor to director and writer was “natural,” but he has his own distinct approach.

“But when I direct, I don’t watch playback,” he said. “There’s no chairs. I’ve always hated chairs on sets; your energy dips the minute you sit down in a chair. There’s no video village.”

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Video village refers to the area on set where monitors are set up for the director, often with director’s chairs for the cast and crew as well.

Cooper made an additional comment in a video for Variety where he said, “[An] apple box is a very nice way to sit, and everybody’s together.”

His comments sparked some backlash online.

“For Bradley Cooper and everyone else who needs to hear it, you get the best work out of folks when they feel safe, included, and their needs are met. If you have to create harsh conditions to get people to work, you are simply not good at leading. It’s a skill issue,” wrote one person on X.

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“Sorry but even completely able-bodied people are not performing at their artistic best when they’ve been standing for 14 hours,” another wrote.

“I think every single person on set should get a provided chair, not just cast/video village, because working 12 hour+ days without being allowed to sit down is inhumane,” shared a third.

Representatives for Cooper did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The chair comments are not the only controversy Cooper has faced over the film. To play Bernstein, Cooper wore a prosthetic nose, deemed by some to be offensive to the Jewish community.

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During a joint appearance with Cooper and her siblings on “CBS Sunday Morning”, Leonard Bernsteins’s daughter, Jamie Bernstein, defended the A-list actor. “I just want to point out that Bradley has a very substantial nose. I don’t think anyone noticed that before the fracas happened,” she joked of the scrutiny. “It’s the absolute non-issue of all time,” she emphasized.     

For “Maestro,” Cooper pulled quadruple duty: directing, co-writing, producing, and starring as Bernstein. To prepare for the role, Cooper opted for method acting.

In the Variety interview, Cooper explained he had not done much method acting in the past, but he learned from his “American Hustle” co-star Christian Bale that it did not have to be an all-consuming process.

“‘American Hustle’ was the first time I saw an actor stay in the voice of a character. It was Christian Bale. I had heard stories about Daniel Day-Lewis. I couldn’t figure out how someone could do that. Then I realized I was overthinking it,” Cooper said. “Christian just stayed in the voice, but we talked about his kids. It wasn’t like he saw an iPhone and had a heart attack. Ever since ‘American Hustle,’ that’s how I’ve done it as an actor.”

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The 48-year-old even stayed in character while directing scenes.

“I was playing Lenny throughout his life. I would spend three to six hours in the makeup trailer every day before the crew arrived. It was hilarious, because on days when I was young Lenny, the energy of the set was faster, and we got more done,” he said. “And then when I was old Lenny, it had a slower gear. If you ask the crew or cast, Lenny directed the movie.”

He also explained to The Hollywood Reporter, “I have hand signals with the sound mixer and the camera operator. I don’t call action. After everything’s set up, I’ll just start talking and bring the actors, and often they don’t know we’re rolling. And then they’re like, ‘The scene’s over.’ And they’re like, ‘Huh?’ I’m [playing] Lenny Bernstein, so I’m not breaking in and out of character.” 

Cooper completed an intense conducting scene in a single, six-minute take, shot on location at the real Ely Cathedral, where Bernstein conducted Gustav Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony in 1973, with a live orchestra and choir, as he told Emma Stone during Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series.

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He studied with LA Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel and Yannick Séguin, music director of the Metropolitan Opera for the past six years to prepare for the big moment.

As he told Stone, “Conducting is the hardest thing. People are always like, ‘What’s conducting?’ You’re keeping tempo a little bit ahead, and you’re also reminding everybody these things that you’d worked on in rehearsal. I just kept messing it up. The minute I was behind tempo, it’s over. I’m lost. Imagine that. First of all, I’m Lenny. I’m directing it. And they don’t really give you anything, these musicians. It was a nightmare.”

Cooper initially shot the scene one day, but went back and re-did it in a single take after being dissatisfied with his performance.

“I set up the shot of one take. It took an hour and a half to set up. Then I brought everybody back in, and I actually said a prayer to Lenny in front of everybody, like, ‘Thank you for this opportunity. We’re going to do it again.’ That’s what’s in the movie. It was one take,” he said.

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Carey Mulligan, who plays Bernstein’s wife, Felicia Montealegre Bernstein, praised Cooper’s efforts to understand the famous composer and conductor thoroughly.

“Bradley had done mammoth amounts of research and preparation in all aspects, because he needed to direct the film. I’ve never seen anyone prep for a character the way that he prepped for Lenny. It was astonishing,” Mulligan told Variety. “He was ringing me up in the full dialect a full year before we even got to New York. I mean, it was unbelievable. By the time we were shooting it, it just didn’t feel like we had to think very much. And I think it was the sort of not having to think about it that made it very easy to just respond to stuff.” 

She continued, “I will get on set sometimes and just freak out, because I feel self-conscious, or I feel like I’m not ready. I never felt like that on this set. I always felt like I couldn’t fail. Bradley made it feel like you couldn’t, and that was the environment that everyone walked into.”

Mulligan also noted she had been a fan of Cooper’s directorial debut, “A Star is Born,” in which he co-starred alongside Lady Gaga.

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Lady Gaga came out to support Cooper during the premiere of “Maestro” last week, posing on the red carpet with her one-time director and co-star.

As Cooper told People in 2018, “I made a friend for life. As great as this movie was, the thing that I think I’ll take away forever is the relationship I have with her because she is an incredible person. I’m very lucky to have worked with her.”

The actor also had another very special guest at the premiere: his six-year-old daughter Lea De Seine, from his relationship with ex Irina Shayk.

Lea also has a small role in “Maestro,” which Shayk proudly spoke about on social media, writing, “So proud Daddy and Lea” beneath a promotional photo of the two and Mulligan.