Bradley Cooper and Matt Bomer Share a Kiss on N.Y.C. Set of Leonard Bernstein Biopic Maestro

Steve Sands/NewYorkNewswire/Bauer-Griffin/Shutterstock Bradley Cooper and Matt Bomer film Maestro (2023)

Bradley Cooper and Matt Bomer are getting into character.

The actors were photographed locking lips on the set of Maestro in New York City Monday, both dressed in what looked to be business attire.

Cooper, 47, appeared as a younger version of his real-life character in the film, Leonard Bernstein, as he was devoid of the transformational makeup used for Bernstein's older version.

It is unclear who Bomer, 44, is playing in the upcoming Netflix biographical film, which is also set to star Carey Mulligan, Jeremy Strong, Maya Hawke and Sarah Silverman and be directed by Cooper.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Netflix Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro (2023)

RELATED: Bradley Cooper Is Unrecognizable as Composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro First Look

Late last month, Netflix debuted first-look photos of Maestro, which showed the nine-time Oscar nominee unrecognizable as an aged Bernstein and Mulligan, 37, who plays the late composer's wife Felicia Montealegre.

The upcoming film marks Cooper's return to directing after making his debut with 2018's A Star Is Born. In January, he teased Maestro during a conversation with Mahershala Ali for Variety, explaining that he personally "wanted to be a conductor since I was a kid."

Cooper said at the time, "I was obsessed with it, asked Santa Claus for a baton when I was 8. Listening to music, falling in love with it and being able to really know every single moment of a piece, like Tchaikovsky's Opus 35 in D major, this violin concerto."

"I could do it as if I know everything about it without really being able to speak the language, obviously," he added.

Netflix Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro (2023)

RELATED: Bradley Cooper Says He'd Planned to "Give Up Acting" Before Recent Role in Licorice Pizza

The Nightmare Alley star also explained how he took on directing duties for Maestro after Steven Spielberg was originally attached to it.

"I always knew that Steven Spielberg knew that I had this obsession with conducting," said Cooper. "He had this biopic idea and was talking to me about potentially acting in it. But I had just been working on A Star Is Born. And I said, 'Listen, all I want to do is write and direct movies. I always felt like I could play a conductor, but may I research the material and see if I can write it and direct it? Would you let me do that?' "

"Steven has a lot of interests — he'll just choose one thing and all of the other things will be on hold. I think he knew he wasn't going to make that movie for a while," he added. "He was kind enough to hand it off to me, and that's what I've been doing for the last four and a half years, and we start shooting in May."

Maestro, which also counts Martin Scorsese and Spielberg, 75, among the producers, is expected to debut in 2023.