Lance Armstrong? Bradley Cooper says talk is premature

Slow down, everyone. Bradley Cooper may not be getting on a bike just yet.

Last week, he told BBC News that he was interested in playing disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong if a movie version of his life comes to fruition. Now, the Silver Linings Playbook star has explained to Access Hollywood that he was amused by the subsequent chatter, but there’s no truth to it. “Oh my god, that’s so nuts!” he said. “I was in Manchester, doing the BBC morning show… I had no idea what [the interviewer] was talking about. I didn’t even know that J.J. [Abrams] has the rights, I had no idea. I don’t know anything about it.”

The rumors gained traction when J.J. Abrams – who’s recently generated some headlines for another in-the-works project – confirmed to Entertainment Tonight that he’d emailed with Cooper about the upcoming book Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong, which Abrams’ production company has gotten the rights to develop. (A rep for Cooper declined to comment to EW.)

Armstrong or not, Cooper has a lot on his plate. After seeing Silver Linings Playbook through Oscar season, Cooper will next be seen in the March release of The Place Beyond the Pines, co-starring Ryan Gosling, as well as The Hangover Part III opening in May. He’s also set to produce and star in the upcoming historical thriller Dark Invasion.

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