"Silver Linings Playbook" star Bradley Cooper quit drinking alcohol in his late 20s, and now that he is a successful actor, he believes that his "beautiful and unbelievable" decision is the reason behind his success.
In Barbara Walters "10 Most Fascinating People of 2015" special which aired December 17, the actor told the host, "I would never be sitting here with you, no way, no chance, if I hadn't quit."
Cooper explained, "I wouldn't have been able to have access to myself or other people, or even been able to take in other people, if I hadn't changed my life. I never would have been able to have the relationships that I do."
The actor also added that he never would have been able to take care of his father, the late Charles Cooper, if he never quit drinking alcohol.
He shared that his father was a major driving factor behind his stardom. Cooper said that he was inspired to become an actor after his father showed him the 1980 movie "The Elephant Man" when he was 12 years old. Cooper's father passed away in 2011, which means he never got to see his son play the title role in the stage adaptation of "The Elephant Man" on both New York's Broadway and London's West End.
Talking about how his father would have reacted to his success, Cooper said, "I think he wouldn't believe it."
In the same interview, the 40-year-old actor also talked about Jennifer Lawrence's powerful op-ed on wage inequality. He pointed out that "in general, we live in a patriarchal society."
Cooper related, "It's symptomatic of a larger issue. And she was bold enough to come out, write an op-ed about it. I think probably other professions are much worse than our profession. But it's rampant. Why not start a conversation?"
