Bradley Cooper has admitted he was addicted to cocaine and alcohol before he found mega fame with The Hangover.
The actor has candidly opened up about the time and reason why he hit rock bottom.
Cooper sat down with the lads on the Smartless podcast, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, to talk about his lowest moments.
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It all began when Bradley started getting some acting gigs after graduating from the Actors Studio Drama School at The New School in New York City.
He explained on the podcast: "I thought I made it when I got a Wendy's commercial, and I called my dad saying I'm in a hotel that has a window that opens.
"In terms of the made-it thing, that's when I made it.
"But moving to Los Angeles for Alias, [I was] feeling like I was back in high school: I could not get into any clubs, no girls wanted to look at me."
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He said the bright lights and big city atmosphere of LA, as well as the brutally competitive acting industry, meant he suffered with self-esteem issues.
"I was totally depressed," he said.
But he said the silver lining of this whole ordeal is that it happened before he was properly famous.
"It wasn't really until The Hangover. I was 36 when I did The Hangover, so I got to go through all those things before fame even played into my existence on a daily level," he said.
"So all that happened before any of that."
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The Hangover came out in 2009 and Bradley said he realised he was on a warpath to destruction half a decade earlier.
It was back in 2004 when Will Arnett went over to Bradley's home to see if he was okay.
Will realised Cooper hadn't taken his dogs out all day and was worried about his mental state.
"That was the first time I ever realised I had a problem with drugs and alcohol," Cooper said. "It was Will saying that to me, I'll never forget it... It changed my entire life.
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"I definitely made major breakthroughs 29 to 32, 33, 34 where I was at least able to stand in front of someone and breathe and listen and talk.
"Will is the reason, he took that risk of having that hard conversation with me in July of 2004, that put me on a path of deciding to change my life."
Will congratulated Cooper on becoming a leading man in Hollywood today.
"You went through this metamorphosis before The Hangover," he said on the podcast.
"Having those realisations and having that change allowed you to — that's what opened you up and allowed you to be you."
Topics: Bradley Cooper, Celebrity
Stewart Perrie