Bradley Cooper Calls American Sniper A 'Character Study'

by Helen Earnshaw | 6 January 2015

Bradley Cooper says American Sniper is more than just a war movie, it is also a character study.

Bradley Cooper

Cooper is set to return to the big screen this month as he takes on the central role of U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in a movie that is based on his memoir of the same name. The film will also see the Oscar nominated actor team up with filmmaker Clint Eastwood for the first time.

And Cooper says that Eastwood was 'absolutely the right director' to helm this project because he has created so many character studies with his other film projects.

Speaking to Flicks and Bits, the actor said: "In some ways, it's a universal story about what most veterans have to go through-dealing with the seesaw of being in a war zone and then suddenly coming home to a 'normal' life. That was very moving to me.

"I liked the fact that it wasn't as much of a war movie as it was a character study. And if you look at Clint Eastwood's films, like 'Unforgiven,' 'Gran Torino,' 'Letters from Iwo Jima'... they are all complex character studies, albeit with very different backdrops. So he was absolutely the right director to tell this story in a very raw, truthful way."

American Sniper is the first film outing for Cooper since Serena back in October, and the film sees him star alongside Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner, Luke Grimes, and Sam Jaeger.

2014 was a very successful year for Cooper, who picked up a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role in American Hustle, before going on to enjoy huge box office success with Guardians of the Galaxy.

And we are going to be seeing plenty of Cooper as we head into 2015, as he has also finished on a movie for Cameron Crowe and another for John Wells.