By: The REEL Addict
I imagine like most people my first exposure to the dreamy, intensely blue-eyed Bradley Cooper was on the TV show ALIAS. There he played Will Tippin, one of Sydney Bristow’s (Jennifer Garner) closet friends. Though his character could sometimes get annoying because he would often naively wander into situations that would threaten to endanger both himself and Sydney, you could never really outright dislike him because he was ultimately a nice, well-meaning, and even admirable guy. He was the kind of guy you would actually want as your real life friend. That feeling was all Cooper, who infused Will with such seemingly genuinely natural charm and sweetness – further accentuated with those emotive, gorgeous, entrancing eyes, and that debonair smile – that you never really held it against the character (or the show runners) that he kind of a pain on occasion.
His success as a genuinely good guy made it all the more interesting that he followed up his roles on ALIAS playing a clichéd chauvinistic jerk boyfriend to Rachel McAdams in WEDDING CRASHERS, and a sidekick to Matthew McConaughey in another romantic comedy, FAILURE TO LAUNCH. Neither of them were great roles, but I was nonetheless overjoyed because a) it was just good to see him, and b) small parts in high-profile films often easily lead to bigger and better things for actors like Bradley Cooper.
Initially “bigger and better” seemed to be his headlining the fun TV show KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL which provided a perfect character for Cooper to work with, combining his ability to play drama and comedy well, and throwing us a mix of sexy bad boy behavior with genuine humanity. Sadly, FOX (shockingly out of character, I know) cancelled the show after a few episodes, leaving many Cooper fans – or maybe just me – severely disappointed.
No worries though, because it seems those big (movie) roles are slowly starting to come in. In fact, it seems now is as good of time as any to be a Bradley Cooper fan. His presence alone is drawing me to films I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Despite my diminishing tolerance for overly violent, twisted, slasher-style horror films, I can’t wait to see him play the leading role in MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN (August 1st), and the same for the seemingly mundane and clichéd ensemble romantic comedy, HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU (October 24th). On top of that he has nothing less five other films in various stages of development, if you have a gander at his IMDB rap sheet.
So I think it’s fair to say that Cooper is on his way, and we have many more chances to be drawn into those sea blue eyes. Those eyes that got Jennifer Esposito to marry him, and to get Cameron Diaz to date him. That’s not easy to do. Believe me, I’ve tried. 
