Bradley Cooper battled cocaine and alcohol addiction before Hangover fame: 'I was so lost'

Getting sober changed Bradley Cooper's life for the better, and it's all because of Will Arnett.

While sitting down on the podcast Smartless, hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Arnett, Cooper opened up about his struggles with addiction, self-esteem, and finding his way in Hollywood.

In 2004, Arnett stopped by Cooper's place, noticing that it was late afternoon and he still hadn't let his dogs out to go to the bathroom. "That was the first time I ever realized I had a problem with drugs and alcohol," said Cooper. "It was Will saying that to me, I'll never forget it... It changed my entire life."

Cooper says he was in a dark place at that time, having "zero self-esteem" and battling his demons. "I was so lost," he said. "And I was addicted to cocaine, that was the other thing... I severed my Achilles tendon right after I got fired-slash-quit Alias."

Bateman pointed out that Cooper is now the antithesis of his former self: warm, thoughtful, and generous. Cooper credits this aspect of his life to hitting rock bottom before he really achieved his fame.

"I did have the benefit of that happening when I was 29," Cooper explained. "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. I was totally depressed. 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. So all that happened before any of that."

Arnett agreed with Cooper, saying, "You went through this metamorphosis before The Hangover. Having those realizations and having that change allowed you to — that's what opened you up and allowed you to be you."

Cooper reiterated that the inciting incident that prompted this metamorphosis was all courtesy of Arnett. "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," he reflected. "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."

Since that time, Cooper has earned Oscar nods for his acting and earned raves for his work as a director on his debut feature, A Star Is Born.

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