Joe Rogan Experience #2435 - Bradley Cooper

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   [upbeat music] Joe Rogan Podcast, check it out!…

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:00

      [upbeat music] Joe Rogan Podcast, check it out!

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:04

      The Joe Rogan Experience.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      [upbeat music] Train by day, Joe Rogan Podcast by night, all day. [upbeat music] Hey, Bradley Cooper. [laughing]

   4. BCBradley Cooper0:13

      What's happening, baby? You know what it's like when, uh... Like a Twilight Zone episode or something-

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:19

      Mm-hmm.

   6. BCBradley Cooper0:19

      ... where, like, you're watching the T- this is an episode where, like, I'm watching the TV, and-

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:22

      And then all of a sudden you're inside of the show.

   8. BCBradley Cooper0:24

      And all of a sudden, and you're looking at me.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:25

      Oh.

   10. BCBradley Cooper0:25

       And I got the m- y- yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:26

       Yeah.

   12. BCBradley Cooper0:26

       And all of a sudden I'm inside the show. It's crazy.

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:28

       It's weird for me, too. It's we- it's weird for me that it gets weird for other people, too. Like, when I see people-

   14. BCBradley Cooper0:34

       Of course

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:34

       ... being weird about it-

   16. BCBradley Cooper0:35

       Yeah

   17. JRJoe Rogan0:35

       ... I'm like, "It's okay." [laughing]

   18. BCBradley Cooper0:37

       I feel comfortable, just so you know.

   19. JRJoe Rogan0:38

       Oh, good. [laughing]

   20. BCBradley Cooper0:38

       You look comfortable.

   21. JRJoe Rogan0:39

       Yeah, no, no, no.

   22. BCBradley Cooper0:40

       But it-

   23. JRJoe Rogan0:40

       It's excitement. It's weird for me. Like, I was trying to explain this to someone. They're l- they're like, "Do people have a hard time being comfortable on the show?" I go, "I kind of do, too. It's fucking weird."

   24. BCBradley Cooper0:48

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan0:49

       It's weird that that many people are watching.

   26. BCBradley Cooper0:51

       Yes.

   27. JRJoe Rogan0:52

       And then you start thinking like, "Oh, don't fuck it up. Don't say that." [laughing]

   28. BCBradley Cooper0:55

       Right. [clears throat] But if you think about it, the fact that you did this long-form setup and that we live in a culture where people ta- at least say that every- it's all about short-term-

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:07

       Yeah

   30. BCBradley Cooper1:08

       ... it, it goes against it. The people are interested.
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Mm.…

   1. BCBradley Cooper15:00

      what, how far along are you guys?" And I read it, and I was like, I didn't quite... Because, like you, I'd never seen a movie that I thought nailed it, and I love stand-up comedy so much. I was like, "And I have no desire to try to redo it." And also, comedy is so massive right now, and, and the specials are so great and cinematic right now, that there's no reason to try to make a fictional movie about something that we can watch as a documentary or a docuseries or a show that is authentic. I was like, "So, but I still would really love to capture it cinematically. So what if it's a foil, and the movie's about the two of them?"

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:33

      Mm.

   3. BCBradley Cooper15:33

      " 'Cause that's interesting."

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:34

      Yes.

   5. BCBradley Cooper15:34

      "And you suck." [laughing]

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:37

      [laughing] Well, that was one of the great scenes where Jordan was like, "You're bad."

   7. BCBradley Cooper15:40

      Yeah, she's like, "You're bad. You're really bad." [laughing]

   8. JRJoe Rogan15:43

      [laughing]

   9. BCBradley Cooper15:43

      And it's much more about just what, what stand-up comedy- with anything, and you talk about this on your show, doing anything that puts you out of your comfort zone.

   10. JRJoe Rogan15:51

       Yeah.

   11. BCBradley Cooper15:52

       Anything that pushes you, you're gonna, you're gonna improve as a human being. That was really what that, that whole thing is about, and I just love the culture and the world, and I thought there's so much tangible stuff there for me to get excited about cinematically and story-wise. But really, it's like, it could have been anything.

   12. JRJoe Rogan16:09

       Yeah.

   13. BCBradley Cooper16:09

       Just something that he'd never done, that had- he had puts himself out there, and that in doing it, in doing it, he just sort of gets more comfortable, you know, and then the mic comes off the stand, and then he's leaning against the wall. And by the end of it, and then the way it was structured, it allows him to do that vampire set at the end of the movie, where all he's doing is exercising what he's feeling emotionally 'cause he's comfortable in this s- setting.

   14. JRJoe Rogan16:33

       Yeah.

   15. BCBradley Cooper16:34

       Because the old him, when he has that fight with her in the attic, he just would've kept that all inside.

   16. JRJoe Rogan16:39

       Mm-hmm.

   17. BCBradley Cooper16:40

       And he would've been catatonic at his kids' assembly, where we meet him in the beginning of the movie. 'Cause you just don't know what to do with all that. But if you have an outlet, something expressive-

   18. JRJoe Rogan16:50

       Yes

   19. BCBradley Cooper16:50

       ... you can, you can, a- you know, exercise it in a healthy way.

   20. JRJoe Rogan16:54

       Yeah.

   21. BCBradley Cooper16:54

       So that, that's what, that, that's w- that really was the point of that whole part of it being stand-up comedy and open mic.

   22. JRJoe Rogan17:01

       What you really nailed is someone trying it for the first time. You, you guys really nailed that. You really nailed a beginner in comedy. Like, it seemed completely realistic.

   23. BCBradley Cooper17:12

       Great. Great.

   24. JRJoe Rogan17:12

       Yeah, and, like, I think that's one of the reasons why Kill Tony is so popular.

   25. BCBradley Cooper17:16

       Yes!

   26. JRJoe Rogan17:17

       You know, 'cause you get to see-

   27. BCBradley Cooper17:18

       Yes

   28. JRJoe Rogan17:18

       ... like, you can't, that, that raw reality-

   29. BCBradley Cooper17:21

       Yeah

   30. JRJoe Rogan17:21

       ... of someone who has never done stand-up before. Like, there was people that went up at Madison Square Garden in front of-
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Jesus.…

   1. JRJoe Rogan30:00

      deals. That was the big thing. You get, like, a 200,000, half a million dollar development deal, and then all of a sudden, you have all this money, and you're living it, and so everybody was working towards that. So it became, instead of, like, people working towards just being a stand-up, it became stand-up was a means to an end, and then all these other people, they were in your way to get that goal.

   2. BCBradley Cooper30:23

      Jesus.

   3. JRJoe Rogan30:23

      And then your agent was telling you that's what you had to do, and every-

   4. BCBradley Cooper30:25

      Right

   5. JRJoe Rogan30:25

      ... 'cause they wanted that money, too.

   6. BCBradley Cooper30:27

      Right.

   7. JRJoe Rogan30:27

      So it was all, like, programming people to go after the sitcom.

   8. BCBradley Cooper30:30

      So completely different culture in the stand-up community there.

   9. JRJoe Rogan30:32

      Exactly, but then that all went away.... it all went away. Like, this, the, the idea of working towards a sitcom is not- it's like working towards a, a career in ham radio. [chuckles]

   10. BCBradley Cooper30:42

       Right.

   11. JRJoe Rogan30:43

       It just fucking went away! [chuckles]

   12. BCBradley Cooper30:44

       Well, you say that Ari changed it. How did he do it?

   13. JRJoe Rogan30:46

       [coughs] 'Cause he brought the LA culture to New York. Ari moved from LA back to New York, and he... I mean, everybody that I talked to in New York was always like, "You guys are doing it wrong." Like, it's not-

   14. BCBradley Cooper30:57

       And people listened to him?

   15. JRJoe Rogan30:58

       Yeah. Well, because he was established, and he was a really good comic, and they were like-

   16. BCBradley Cooper31:02

       Okay

   17. JRJoe Rogan31:02

       ... "I think he's right."

   18. BCBradley Cooper31:03

       Wow.

   19. JRJoe Rogan31:03

       And they would come to N- they would come to LA. Like, a lot of guys, like Andrew Schulz and a lot of these other guys, they would come to LA, and they went, "Bro, everybody's so fucking nice here, and they're all just having a great time. Like, why aren't we doing that? Why aren't we just having a great time?" And so it shifted.

   20. BCBradley Cooper31:17

       Hmm.

   21. JRJoe Rogan31:18

       It's just the... It was the culture of the internet. The internet changed everything because there was no longer this one thing that 100 guys were trying to audition for. Now, it was anybody could just put up something online, and then you- all your friends became assets. They all became, like, valuable to you-

   22. BCBradley Cooper31:36

       Right

   23. JRJoe Rogan31:36

       ... instead of competitors.

   24. BCBradley Cooper31:38

       That's cool.

   25. JRJoe Rogan31:40

       Yeah.

   26. BCBradley Cooper31:40

       Do you go up, uh, in these cities ever now?

   27. JRJoe Rogan31:43

       I do. If I'm in LA, I'll still do sets in LA. I haven't been in a while, but, you know, most of the time I'm at my own club.

   28. BCBradley Cooper31:50

       Right.

   29. JRJoe Rogan31:50

       It makes it way... Yeah, also, I have teenage kids, and they're... I, I wanna be home.

   30. BCBradley Cooper31:55

       Did you do The Cellar?
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   [chuckles]…

   1. BCBradley Cooper45:00

      and we were in Vancouver, uh, at the... doing the meeting. But you know, everybody defers to the boss, and I still remember being in a, in a room, and I'm... Like, a theater, we're watching, and they're like, "Okay, Clint, so we did this, and, uh, you know, the tank has dirt on it," and, you know, whatever visual effects they had done. We get to the baby, and they're like, "Okay, Clint, this is, uh, this scene," and it ends. And I'm literally behind Clint. I just see the back of his head, and I'm waiting for everybody to raise their hand. [chuckles]

   2. JRJoe Rogan45:27

      [chuckles]

   3. BCBradley Cooper45:28

      Like, "We gotta spend more money and make, make the kid real."

   4. JRJoe Rogan45:31

      [laughing]

   5. BCBradley Cooper45:31

      And, uh, I think the kid had, like, two fingers, too. Like, they weren't even... It was like an, "Hey, yeah, that's-"

   6. JRJoe Rogan45:35

      There it is.

   7. BCBradley Cooper45:36

      "Yeah, that's it! That's me. I'm doing that."

   8. JRJoe Rogan45:38

      [laughing]

   9. BCBradley Cooper45:38

      "That's it." [laughing]

   10. JRJoe Rogan45:41

       [laughing]

   11. BCBradley Cooper45:41

       But dude, it's kinda dope. [laughing]

   12. JRJoe Rogan45:44

       [laughing]

   13. BCBradley Cooper45:44

       I love it now. I've come full circle. So, so every- and I raised my hand, and I was like, "Clint, I just think that it's clear, you know, that that's not a b- baby."

   14. JRJoe Rogan45:54

       [chuckles]

   15. BCBradley Cooper45:54

       "And what would... Do we, can we at least just find out what the cost would be?" And no one, and no one said anything, and then I remember he was like, "No, I think, I think we move on."

   16. JRJoe Rogan46:04

       Wow! [chuckles]

   17. BCBradley Cooper46:05

       And that was it, dude.

   18. JRJoe Rogan46:06

       [chuckles]

   19. BCBradley Cooper46:06

       And that was it, and I was like, "Okay. Okay."

   20. JRJoe Rogan46:08

       [chuckles]

   21. BCBradley Cooper46:09

       And I remember talking to the other producer. I was like, "This is gonna come back." [laughing]

   22. JRJoe Rogan46:13

       [laughing]

   23. BCBradley Cooper46:13

       I was like, "Bro, this is gonna come back to haunt us." And I remember he said, "No, Bradley, you're too close to the movie."

   24. JRJoe Rogan46:17

       Oh. [chuckles]

   25. BCBradley Cooper46:18

       I was like, "I don't think so, dude." [chuckles]

   26. JRJoe Rogan46:19

       No, everybody's like-

   27. BCBradley Cooper46:20

       Yeah

   28. JRJoe Rogan46:20

       ... "Look, he's moving his thumb. This is crazy. That's a rubber baby."

   29. BCBradley Cooper46:24

       Crazy, dude. Then there's another one, too, when, like, I'm... Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's crazy.

   30. JRJoe Rogan46:29

       What is it like doing a film like that, where you're playing an actual human being? Is that, is that different than, like, a, a, like, a written character that has no physical body, that you, you, you can kind of become who you think the words represent?
5. 1:00:00 – 1:15:00

   Right.…

   1. BCBradley Cooper1:00:00

      it, I mean, and it's wonderful. 'Cause then you feel like you're not acting, and you're in the voice.

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:03

      Right.

   3. BCBradley Cooper1:00:03

      You're... And I'd do it all... Like, so, so I would be in that voice of Chris for the whole movie, and then we would go to, like, a restaurant when we were, like, up in Lancaster shooting or something, and Clint would then make fun of me and my accent as Chris and order a steak. And it was just-

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:16

      [laughs]

   5. BCBradley Cooper1:00:16

      ... it was, it was great. Yeah. [laughs]

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:18

      He's fucking sabotaging your performance. [laughs] He's making you self-conscious. That's crazy.

   7. BCBradley Cooper1:00:23

      It was awesome.

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:00:24

      That's crazy.

   9. BCBradley Cooper1:00:25

      Yeah. It was-

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:00:26

       I, I always wondered what it's like to be around someone who's, like, method, whether, whether on-

   11. BCBradley Cooper1:00:29

       But I don't know that I... I wouldn't... You know, method is also a term that it, you know, it-

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:00:33

       What does it mean?

   13. BCBradley Cooper1:00:33

       Well, the method, well, what hap- it started in Russia, right? And then, uh, um, you know, that book, uh, On Acting, that I should know, c- um, you know, what's his name? Uh, but he came, and then the group theater started, and it was like... You know, and all these people then disbanded, and there's Harry Berliner and there's... Yeah, Stanislavski, exactly. And there was this other guy, Vsevolod Meyerhold, that also talked about, uh, the, that every rehearsal... It, it's very interesting, and I read all this in grad school. And then the group theater came in, and then Elia Kazan was a huge part of it becoming popular because you had this guy that was sweeping floors at the Actor's Studio and then started directing plays, and then all of a sudden, he's a huge movie director. And he's putting Marlon Brando, who was part of the Actor's Studio, starring in his movies. You know, and, and he's doing... And so it all just sort of erupted. But then it branched out. And so there's people that are dogmatic about it, about it's only using your... You know, you're substituting, so if I'm doing a scene with you, like, you aren't you, you're my brother.... you know?

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:01:32

       Right.

   15. BCBradley Cooper1:01:33

       But, but, but it's evolved into, it's like what works for you. To me, it's like you use your, your own experience plus your imagination, you know, but that's, that's the sort- that's the, you know, sort of a very layman's 50-second, uh, you know, telling of what the origin of the method is. But I went to the Actor's Studio, which is based in the method. That's where I went to grad school.

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:01:55

       Um, i- is it easy?

   17. BCBradley Cooper1:01:56

       And it's very valuable, 'cause I didn't know shit before that. I mean, I did, I did a couple of plays at Georgetown. I didn't know any- I mean, I just loved acting, but I didn't do anything about it. I was terrified as a kid. Like, we did this thing in high school where we had to, as seniors, we would put on our show where we would make fun of our teachers, and I, like, I could do my Latin teacher, Mr. Burke. I was like... And I actually sang in it. We sang, and I was like... But I was terrified, Joe, for the whole year. Sleepless nights for a year leading up to it. That's how scared I was in public. I remember doing, like, a fifth grade presentation with the poster boards about Locke and Hobbes, and the poster shaking so hard 'cause I was-

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:02:30

       [laughing]

   19. BCBradley Cooper1:02:30

       ... 'cause I was so nervous. I was like, "How am I gonna... What's this fear thing?"

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:02:33

       Isn't that weird?

   21. BCBradley Cooper1:02:34

       I know. But then at, in college, I did a couple of plays, but I still didn't know what I was doing, but I loved it. And I was like, little stuff. I was like Asilon, the server in Dangerous Liaisons, but I still remember, like, I closed the door in a rhythm, rhythmic way, and people laughed. And I remember I was like, "Ooh." I was like, "This feels good."

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:02:51

       [chuckles]

   23. BCBradley Cooper1:02:52

       And then, and then so I w- applied to grad school there, and then all of a sudden, it was like I got a huge foundation of, like, what I could do. You know, that your insecurities are actually your attributes, your fears are stuff that, you know, all this thing that you've... You're a sensitive kid, this is all good stuff, and I never felt that way before about any of that. And I had this teacher, Elizabeth Kemp, who was incredible, who then passed away in my house years later.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:03:17

       Oh.

   25. BCBradley Cooper1:03:17

       She got sick. Yeah, it's crazy.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:03:19

       Passed away in your house?

   27. BCBradley Cooper1:03:20

       Yeah, in Venice, California. Yeah, she was sick, so we put her hospice there, but, um, she was incredible. And she did this basic technique class, and it was the first time ever, 'cause I didn't, you know, grow up therapy or... and none of that was even, you know, in the vicinity of talking about your feelings. You know, my, I loved my dad, but I grew up in, you know, the '80s in Northeast Philadelphia with a Irish-Italian upbringing. That wasn't part of the deal. And, um, and then all of a sudden, in grad school with other guys and women, and we're, like, laying down, and she wants us to go through an experience of loss and betrayal when we were children. It's like, what the fuck? And actually, I could take all that stuff I've been ashamed of, and it, it, I could use it and bring it into art. I don't know, it really clicked with me-

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:04:02

       Wow

   29. BCBradley Cooper1:04:02

       ... in a huge way. Um, so, and I use it even to this day. All the movies I do, I, I always get the actors together and do, like, a workshop for a week that's based on dreams that she also taught me, and I, I just find it invaluable. Any way you can just... How can I just get to a place where we're just talking to each other, and I don't, you know, what c- and then all this stuff I feel, it's okay.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:04:23

       Right. Right.
6. 1:15:00 – 1:30:00

   Yeah…

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:15:00

      Yeah

   2. BCBradley Cooper1:15:00

      ... the fuck in."

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:15:01

      Oh, 100%. Yeah, 100%. It was very uncomfortable for me. [laughs]

   4. BCBradley Cooper1:15:04

      You felt that? [laughs]

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:15:05

      Yeah. Yes!

   6. BCBradley Cooper1:15:06

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:15:06

      Oh, 100%.

   8. BCBradley Cooper1:15:07

      Oh, good.

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:15:07

      Definitely. The, I was... I have this conversation with Ethan Hawke about that. I go, "What is happening when I believe someone?" Like, I was talking about the scene in, um, that movie with him and Julia Roberts, the, about the end of the world.

   10. BCBradley Cooper1:15:19

       Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, of course.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:15:20

       There's a, there's a scene with him and Kevin Bacon.

   12. BCBradley Cooper1:15:24

       Yeah, when they go to the house.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:15:25

       Yes.

   14. BCBradley Cooper1:15:25

       And also, uh, there's three guys in that scene.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:15:28

       Yeah.

   16. BCBradley Cooper1:15:28

       Um... Oh, my God.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:15:29

       I know-

   18. BCBradley Cooper1:15:29

       He's amazing. Yeah, from Moonlight, and he's been in tons of stuff. Gr- uh, uh, Green Book. I know him.

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:15:36

       Yeah, J- Jamie will pull it up. I can't... I'll fuck his name up if I pronounce it.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:15:40

       Sorry.

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:15:41

       What is it?

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:15:42

       Sorry, while I'm working.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:15:43

       Um...

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:15:46

       Oh, uh, it's, uh, Mahershala Ali.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:15:47

       That's it.

   26. BCBradley Cooper1:15:48

       Mahershala Ali.

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:15:48

       Mahershala Ali.

   28. BCBradley Cooper1:15:49

       Yes.

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:15:49

       Um, d- I believe it. I know that's Kevin Bacon. I know that's Ethan Hawke.

   30. BCBradley Cooper1:15:54

       Right.
7. 1:30:00 – 1:45:00

   I'm actually acting?…

   1. BCBradley Cooper1:30:00

      and that was a great life. And I... If I got a callback, it was great, but then when I had to do it, I remember literally like, "Whoa, whoa, I have to do... Like, wait, wait, what?"

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:30:07

      I'm actually acting?

   3. BCBradley Cooper1:30:07

      "I actually have to do it?" Um-

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:30:09

      What was it? What was the first thing you had to do?

   5. BCBradley Cooper1:30:10

      It was, I played Jake, the downtown smoker, in the Sex and the City with Sarah Jessica Parker, and I couldn't drive, uh, standard, never learned how to drive standard, so they sent me to O'Dell Dri- O'Dell's Driving School, and all I thought about was, like, "Don't have her head hit the dashboard- [laughing]

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:30:22

      ... [laughing]

   7. BCBradley Cooper1:30:22

      ... when we pull into the corner." And I still messed it up, and they had another guy do it, and then I just had to do this thing, you know, when the camera scene, you go, "You okay?" [chuckles] You know, like you're pulling in. [chuckles]

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:30:32

      Yeah.

   9. BCBradley Cooper1:30:32

      But I worked so hard on it. Um, no, but LA for me, it was re- I think it, for me at least, was the geography. You, going from New York City, where, you know, you can go to Bar Six, which is on 6th Avenue. No matter who you are, you go with your couple friends, like, you just feel like you're in a cool place or a place that's vibrant. LA, it's like, if I wasn't at work, I was in, I was in that, that, uh, first floor of the house or my car, rental car-

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:31:01

       Yes

   11. BCBradley Cooper1:31:02

       ... and that was it.

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:31:03

       Yes.

   13. BCBradley Cooper1:31:03

       And, like, and, and the world, which I could feel because I was seeing posters everywhere and billboards, which I'd never been ex- except for driving to Atlantic City, you know, and seeing who was gonna, you know, gonna be, you know, as a residency, I- that... It, it was really the stimulus, the stimuli of that city aesthetically, and how compartmentalized it is. So what I felt like, like it's, if you're not in, you're out.

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:31:28

       Right.

   15. BCBradley Cooper1:31:29

       And I just remember thinking, like, "Some- somebody somewhere in this town is having a ball right now- [laughing]

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:31:34

       [laughing]

   17. BCBradley Cooper1:31:34

       ... and it's not me." [laughing] Do you know what I mean?

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:31:37

       Yeah.

   19. BCBradley Cooper1:31:37

       And then that just leads to: How can I cope?

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:31:41

       Right.

   21. BCBradley Cooper1:31:41

       You know, and, like, you know, not getting into bars, clubs, you know, and, like, girls not really looking at you, you know, and all that stuff, and all of a sudden, it's like seventh grade, and I'm 25 years old. And it's like, "And I should be happy 'cause I paid, um, by the end of this year, I'm gonna pay off my student loan, but I'm fucking miserable, and what's wrong with me?" You know, it... But to me, it was the geography of it. You know, New York City is so wonderful because no matter what you're thinking... Like, when I would do The Elephant Man, I would take the subway to 42nd Street, and my preparation for the play was getting off the subway, going to the theater. 'Cause the amount of thousands of people-... that are forcing me to be present-

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:32:20

       Yes

   23. BCBradley Cooper1:32:20

       ... was, it was wonderful.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:32:21

       Yeah.

   25. BCBradley Cooper1:32:21

       It was like doing a 12-minute relaxation, 'cause you're just, it's life, vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom. And you're like, [exhales] get through, you know? And then by the time you get to this theater, you're like, "Okay!" You know, but LA, it's like you're in your car-

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:32:34

       Mm-hmm

   27. BCBradley Cooper1:32:34

       ... and the thing, you pull up to the studio, the thing, da, da, you walk, and you know, and then all of a sudden it's like, "Okay, here we go." And you're like, "Oh, okay, h- hold on a second."

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:32:43

       Yeah, that thing that New York has that LA doesn't have is all walks of life are all intertwined. You're walking down the street together, there's a billionaire, and a homeless guy, and a fucking, you know, ne'er-do-well, and an office worker.

   29. BCBradley Cooper1:33:00

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:33:00

       And everyone's walking to where they go, and they walk into restaurants, and they get in cabs, and they get on the subway, and everybody intermingles.
8. 1:45:00 – 2:00:00

   [chuckles]…

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:45:00

      a baby.

   2. BCBradley Cooper1:45:01

      [chuckles]

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:45:02

      I used to think of people as static. I used to think, I meet Bradley Cooper, he's 51, that's a 51-year-old guy. But when I s- you know, had children and raised children, you start saying, "Oh, this is a baby that became a person." And it's just life experiences, genetics, environment, all these different factors. Here you are now, but you are a product of this path and this journey that you've taken through life, and I give people way more grace because of that.

   4. BCBradley Cooper1:45:30

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:45:31

      I give them w- w- ... I'm way more charitable, way more compassionate, way, way more understanding of even people that suck. You know, when I meet someone that sucks, I'm like, "Ugh, I wish I could've met them when they were five and see what it was, and maybe I could help them," and-

   6. BCBradley Cooper1:45:48

      It's hard for me to hate people. That, that has, that has, um, not served me so well over the years, but ultimately it has. But it's... Yeah, it's hard for me not to, um, feel just any other human being, how hard it is to be alive.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:46:03

      Right.

   8. BCBradley Cooper1:46:04

      It, it is. There's just like, I don't know, it was... I think it was hardwired in me, it has nothing to do with, like, anything, just like, yeah. It's hard for me to... Even people that are, like, mean to me-

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:46:14

      Mm-hmm.

   10. BCBradley Cooper1:46:14

       ... you know, it's hard for me to, like, stay mad at them.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:46:19

       Yeah. My wife said something the other night-

   12. BCBradley Cooper1:46:22

       As I get older.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:46:23

       As you get older.

   14. BCBradley Cooper1:46:24

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:46:24

       Yes. When you're young, it's like, "Fuck that guy!"

   16. BCBradley Cooper1:46:25

       Yeah. No, yeah, yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:46:26

       Yeah, easy.

   18. BCBradley Cooper1:46:26

       I'll never forget it.

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:46:27

       Yeah.

   20. BCBradley Cooper1:46:27

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:46:28

       Yeah.

   22. BCBradley Cooper1:46:28

       I'm gonna remember that.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:46:29

       Yeah.

   24. BCBradley Cooper1:46:29

       I saw your true face. [laughing]

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:46:31

       Yeah.

   26. BCBradley Cooper1:46:31

       Yeah, it's true. But yeah, as I get older, oh, no question.

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:46:35

       My daughter was talking about some horrible story in the news of someone who fucked up their whole life and all these different things, and my wife listens to her and goes, "It's hard to be a person."

   28. BCBradley Cooper1:46:46

       Yeah, man.

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:46:47

       It's hard to be a person. Being a person is hard.

   30. BCBradley Cooper1:46:49

       Yeah, so-
9. 2:00:00 – 2:13:32

   Right.…

   1. BCBradley Cooper2:00:00

      uh, but you know, it's, it's, it is what it is. It's where we're headed, but all the more reason to create environments like this.

   2. JRJoe Rogan2:00:09

      Right.

   3. BCBradley Cooper2:00:09

      Or, and that's why I do love what I get to do. Like, if I can somehow in- explore something cinematically that I'm personally... Again, that goes back to like, what's- yeah, just I can't explain it. It was, "Will, the thing, I, I, I, I'm just gonna explore this." If there's something I feel like I wanna do, if I can explore it and be real, maybe somebody's gonna attach to it. Like, I, I'm a huge believer in art.

   4. JRJoe Rogan2:00:32

      Yeah.

   5. BCBradley Cooper2:00:33

      You know, I think art is, you know, in any form, is a key to our communicative ability and, like, not feeling alone. It really comes down to, me at least, just not feeling alone, part of a community.

   6. JRJoe Rogan2:00:45

      Yes.

   7. BCBradley Cooper2:00:45

      That's it, 'cause me alone, me alone, and if I'm controlling a robot, it's still me alone. I guess that's what I'm saying. Once, some part of my brain, even though it's, I'm... Even if you could create a world, like virtual reality, doesn't really do it for me. Like, the world's created, I'm like, "You know what I wanna h- I wanna live on Mars, and, uh, and you're a dinosaur I'm talking to, and, uh, and we're married." Do you know what I mean? And we, you know, like, whatever it is. It's like, I still know I'm controlling it.

   8. JRJoe Rogan2:01:15

      Mm-hmm.

   9. BCBradley Cooper2:01:15

      And it'll never really, for me, and I don't know if anybody else, so I don't know how... I don't think it'll al- ever really solve it.

   10. JRJoe Rogan2:01:22

       Right.

   11. BCBradley Cooper2:01:23

       I just don't.

   12. JRJoe Rogan2:01:23

       It's not gonna res-

   13. BCBradley Cooper2:01:24

       It's not.

   14. JRJoe Rogan2:01:24

       It's not gonna really resonate.

   15. BCBradley Cooper2:01:25

       It's, I don't think so.

   16. JRJoe Rogan2:01:26

       No.

   17. BCBradley Cooper2:01:26

       I don't.

   18. JRJoe Rogan2:01:27

       Ugh.

   19. BCBradley Cooper2:01:27

       It'll be escapism-

   20. JRJoe Rogan2:01:29

       Yeah

   21. BCBradley Cooper2:01:29

       ... which we do, uh, many other things. Smoking weed when I was young, you know, whatever it was for me, you know, or whatever it is. Not that weed's a... That's a communicative thing, that actually... But like, anything that's escape-

   22. JRJoe Rogan2:01:40

       Mm-hmm

   23. BCBradley Cooper2:01:41

       ... it's just a, a higher form of it.

   24. JRJoe Rogan2:01:43

       Well, it's a disconnect, too.

   25. BCBradley Cooper2:01:45

       It's, that's what I mean. It's a disconnect.

   26. JRJoe Rogan2:01:46

       Art is a connect, right? That's-

   27. BCBradley Cooper2:01:48

       It is.

   28. JRJoe Rogan2:01:49

       When, when-

   29. BCBradley Cooper2:01:49

       When it works, it's a connect

   30. JRJoe Rogan2:01:50

       ... Great art. Yeah, great art is an expression of someone's humanity that you get-

Episode duration: 2:35:45