In the May issue of Details magazine Bradley Cooper talks about the huge transformation that’s taken over his life in the past two years that was sparked by a bigger dose of fame and critical praise, but more profoundly by the death of his father in January 2011 after a long bout with cancer. Since then his mom, Gloria Campano, has moved in with him. Most people cringe at the thought of living with their parents, and it’s not all roses for Gloria and Bradley, but it seems like they get along pretty well and need each other right now:
The best way I can answer that is to say we’re surviving. Both of us. Let’s face it: It’s probably not easy for her, by the way, to be living with her son. It’s life. And right now, two years after my father’s death, this is where we are. My family is very close, and my dad dying was brutal for all of us. It was a schism, and its aftershock has not stopped. And we need each other. So here we are. But don’t get me wrong. It’s not without complications. It’s not like I live in a compound and she’s in the guesthouse. No. She’s in the next room. But here’s the thing: She’s a cool chick. We can hang, and she can roll with the punches. If that wasn’t the case, there’s no way.
Bradley Cooper also took his mom to The Oscars, where she brought the awesome by wearing sneakers with her fancy gown, and doing her best Grumpy Cat impression when Christoph Waltz won.
Bradley previously opened up to British GQ about how his father’s death altered his perspective on life, and further elaborated to Details:
I think my father’s death addressed some of the fears or quandaries I had as a child about mortality. It was his parting gift to me. Watching this man—my father—leave his body and go. Watching him die. All of a sudden I was like, “Oh, right, I’m going to die too.” Here it is. It’s not in a book. It’s not in a movie. It’s not in a story that was told to me. It’s not driving by an accident or watching it on TV. It’s someone you love dying in front of you. I was like, “Okay. This is death. And this is going to happen to me one day.” There was a huge freedom that came with that. So now I just don’t sweat the shit. The small stuff. My mind is just less busy now. There were so many times when I would sweat the small stuff. All through my life. High school. College. As an actor. My dad’s death allowed me to be more at ease with being myself. And if someone’s not going to like me, that’s just the way it is. I used to think, “Oh, my God. I don’t want to make anyone not like me. I don’t want to ruffle any feathers.” Now it’s like, “I’m just going to be myself and trust that.” And I’m enjoying life more.
