Bradley Cooper is getting candid about how important fatherhood is to him.
Speaking on the Armchair Expert podcast, the actor, 49, admitted he’s “not sure” if he would even be alive if not for his six-year-old daughter Lea De Seine Shayk Cooper.
“Honestly, I’m not sure I’d be alive if I wasn’t a dad,” he candidly told host Dax Shepherd after bringing up being a parent.
Listen to the audio above.
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Cooper then agreed with Shepherd there was “no question” that at the very least he would have never, as the host put it, “achieved real self-esteem” without being a dad.
The Silver Linings Playbook star opened up about the personal impact of becoming a father after he welcomed his daughter with ex-girlfriend Irina Shayk in 2017.
“I just needed someone to say, like, ‘We’re gonna drop this massive anchor,'” he said about how fatherhood grounded his life.
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“I’m like, ‘Why? We’re speeding! I just got an upgrade on the boat, and I know where the wind’s coming in.’ They’re like, ‘No, no, no, there’s a tsunami coming in, and you need an anchor and we’re gonna drop it.'”
“Because this is gonna dictate everything you do from now on. Your DNA is going to tell you that there’s something more important than you,” he told Shepherd.
Cooper opened up about being “fascinated” by his newborn daughter and loving to take care of her, but not understanding when parents would say they would die for their child.
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“The first like eight months I’m like, I don’t even know if I really love the kid. It’s dope. It’s cool. I’m watching this thing morph, and then all of a sudden…”
“It’s like no question,” the actor said is his response now.
Over the years, the actor has been open about his sobriety journey and his past struggles with addiction.
Cooper currently co-parents his daughter Lea De Seine with model Irina Shayk, who he was with for five years before they separated in 2019.
Shayk opened up about their co-parenting methods during an interview with Elle magazine in 2023, calling her ex-partner the “best father Lea and I could dream of.”
“It always works, but it always works because we make it work,” she said, adding the pair “both take Lea everywhere” with them.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction contact the Alcohol Drug Information Service on 1800 250 015 or Narcotics Anonymous Australia on 1300 652 820.