Bradley Cooper Explains How Working with Vince Vaughn on ‘Wedding Crashers’ ‘Changed Me Forever'

Bradley Cooper sat down for an extended interview with his fellow SAG-AFTRA Award nominees for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. When asked about a career-changing moment he experienced with another actor, Cooper recalled being inspired by Vince Vaughn’s willingness to fail on the 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers.

Vaughn starred with Owen Wilson in the film, about two lawyers who show up uninvited to weddings in order to sleep with women unencumbered. They change their ways after meeting two sisters (Rachel McAdams and Isla Fisher) who show them there might be more to life than one-night stands. Cooper plays McAdams’ villainous boyfriend in the picture, which kicked off a furtive era of raunchy, improv-reliant comedies.

Getting cast in Wedding Crashers was a “huge break” for Cooper, who at that point was playing Jennifer Garner’s boyfriend on Alias. “I was working two hours five days a week, living in L.A., wanting to kill myself,” Cooper told SAG-AFTRA.

“Up until [Wedding Crashers], I was always just trying to get it right on camera. Be present and get it right,” the actor continued. He recalled being astonished after watching Vaughn complete a successful take of an intricate physical sequence and ask for another.

“He’s just like, ‘I want to do another [take].’ In front of everyone…this huge crew and lights and it’s so nerve-wracking,” Cooper said. “It was his willingness to fail” that inspired the young actor.

“I was just in awe of this human, this man just failing, just willing to try anything,” Cooper continued, recalling an instance in which Vaughn doubled down on an unsuccessful bit in front of the entire crew.

“At some point, he was just scatting [to Fisher]. [He] caught onto this thing and was doing this song,” Cooper explained. “I loved seeing it, but clearly it wasn’t working. But it didn’t even matter. It didn't even become about the movie. It became about all of us watching this artist just explore with complete abandon.”

Cooper continued: “It was like a diamond through the middle of my head going, ‘That’s it! That freedom to just be absolutely willing to fail.’ It changed me forever.”

Wedding Crashers was a massive hit, grossing nearly $300 million worldwide. It immediately launched Cooper into the Hollywood stratosphere; within a few years, he took on starring roles in He’s Just Not That Into You and The Hangover.

Cooper, nominated for his turn as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro, was joined for the SAG conversation by fellow nominees Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer), Colman Domingo (Rustin), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction). You can watch the full interview below.