Bradley Cooper Was 'Embarrassed' by Best Director Oscars Snub

A Star Is Born fans were shocked to see Bradley Cooper was snubbed for his directing efforts in the acclaimed feature, but the multitalented star has different thoughts on the topic. The seven-time Academy Award nominee said he was "embarrassed" about not receiving a nomination in the Best Director category.

The Academy unveiled the nominees for its 91st Oscars ceremony on January 22. Spike Lee, Pawel Pawlikowski, Yorgos Lanthimos, Alfonso Cuarón and Adam McKay all earned nods within the competitive Best Director category. Cooper, 44, opened up his lack of recognition during an interview with Oprah Winfrey on Tuesday for OWN's Oprah's SuperSoul Conversations.

Winfrey said she was "surprised" Cooper wasn't nominated for Best Director and asked him about his reaction to the news. While he said he's "never surprised about not getting anything," he did say he felt abashed by the snub.

"I was with my friend at a coffee shop in New York City, and I looked down at my phone and Nicole [Caruso, Cooper's publicist] had texted me congratulations on these other things but didn't tell me the bad news," he explained to Winfrey. "And I went, 'Oh, wow.' And the first thing I felt was embarrassment, actually. Think about it. I felt embarrassed that I didn't do my part."

Despite Cooper's disappointment, he realized that the lack of a nomination shouldn't be a factor in determining "whether I did my job or not."

"That's the trick, to make something that you believe in," he said. "The only thing I set out to do was to tap into as an authentic place as possible—in myself and everybody I asked to make this movie—to tell a human story of people who are going to deal with their family life, trauma as a child, addiction in a real way, love in this life and finding your voice."

A Star Is Born, which is the fourth remake of the original 1937 film, served as Cooper's directorial debut. It currently holds a 90 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 88 percent grade on Metacritic. The movie follows musician Jackson Maine (Cooper) as he meets and falls in love with struggling artist Ally (Lady Gaga), who he thrusts into the spotlight. As Ally's career begins to take off, Jackson's begin to peter out.

A Star Is Born received six Oscar nominations despite Cooper's absence from the Best Director's category. Cooper earned a nod in the Best Actor in a Lead Role category and recognition for Best Adapted Screenplay as well.

In an interview with NPR, Cooper explained that his version of A Star Is Born came from a personal place, especially when it came to his portrayal of Jackson—a character who struggles with alcoholism.

"I think because I'm 40, and I've gone through a lot in my life, I was able to do it with joy. 'Cause some people have asked me: It must have been hard to go to those places? But oddly enough, it was very therapeutic," he told NPR in September 2018. "You know, I've had an interesting road, and I've dealt with similar things in my life. And I've observed it in others close to me, and addiction in general."

Cooper continued, "The main thing, when I was writing it and specifically shooting it, I thought: Gosh, when this movie comes out (if it does come out), I really want anybody who knows deeply about this disease to say, 'Yeah, this is the reflection of what it's like.' Not a glossy version, but the real reality of what it is to be an addict."