Bradley Cooper: 'Paradise Lost' and 'The Hangover 3'

Between the surprise No. 1 opening of the thriller Limitless, in which he played as a burned out writer who becomes a super genius thanks to an experimental drug, the gargantuan success of The Hangover Part II, and that viral clip showing him doing an interview in fluent French, Bradley Cooper’s career has gone into overdrive this year. On Friday, Cooper will take the stage at Comic-Con to start stoking buzz among the nerderati for Paradise Lost, director Alex Proyas’ big-budget, effects-driven adaptation of John Milton’s 17th-century epic poem, in which he will play Satan. Limitless hit DVD shelves on Tuesday, complete with an alternate ending (“the original ending was that alternate ending,” Cooper reveals, “but I like the ending that was in the movie theaters—I think it changes the whole movie”) and an unrated extended cut (“the script was much more profane—there are a lot more f—s, some nudity, and some more blood,” he says). While talking to EW to tout the DVD release, Cooper also shared some thoughts about the prospect of playing Satan, shot down reports he’ll star in Doug Liman’s sci-fi film Luna, and — maybe — dropped a hint about the plot of The Hangover Part III.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So did Paradise Lost fall into your lap after all the success you’ve had this year?

BRADLEY COOPER: The absolute opposite of falling into my lap. I must have met with the director five times. I’d been vying for that role for three years. And then I actually put myself on tape unsolicited in my kitchen, just so he’d look at it. [Laughs] Not much has changed.

Alex Proyas has done big sci-fi films like I Robot and Dark City. So is this sort of a sci-fi take on Milton’s poem?

It’s not a sci-fi take on Paradise Lost — it is Paradise Lost. It’s a cinematic adaptation of Milton’s poem with motion capture. That technology is evolving exponentially by the minute, so where they were when they did Avatar as opposed to where they are now is almost different worlds. I just did the whole fitting for the motion-capture helmet that you wear, and we start shooting at the end of October in Sydney, Australia. I’m very excited.

So what appealed to you about playing Lucifer?

I loved studying that poem at Georgetown. I just fell in love with that character. Satan is kind of the guy you agree with — I don’t know if you agree with him, but you understand his argument and he’s very compelling. Hopefully we’ll be able to maintain the integrity of that.

What’s your Lucifer going to look like onscreen?

I think he’s going to look like me. I don’t know what that says about how satanic I look but, yes, it will be me. [Laughs]

It’s also been reported you’re attached to director Doug Liman’s sci-fi film Luna. Is that right?

No, that’s an IMDB creation. It’s like The Flash — I read I was going to be in The Flash and I called my agent and he was like, “No, bro, you’re not going to be in The Flash.” [Laughs]

Then there’s the rumored remake of The Crow you’re supposedly going to star in. What’s the status of that?

I don’t know the status of that. It’s something I really loved, but we’ll see about that.

And where do things stand with The Hangover Part III?

Whenever Todd [Phillips] says, I’m in.

Zach Galifianakis said in an interview recently that the plot may have to do with his character, Alan, being in a mental hospital and the rest of the Wolfpack breaking him out.

You know what? That might be right.

Really? A lot of people assumed that he was joking, and Warner Bros. has said there are no real plans for the movie yet.

I mean, I have no idea. But that sounds good. [Laughs]

Bradley Cooper: Movin’ on up