Bradley Cooper (left) with Christian Bale in American Hustle

When David O. Russell called you for the role, did you immediately say ‘yes’?

He didn’t pick up the phone because I was standing right next to him! We were editing Silver Linings Playbook (the 2012 film that earned Cooper a Best Actor Oscar nomination). So, I was sort of there, watching him as he was cultivating this whole idea and the notion and the script, creating these characters, getting the cast. I was sort of ahead of the front row seat.

 

Tell us something about your character Richie DiMaso.

He’s a kind of man who wants to be where he’s not [supposed to be], which is a dangerous place for a strong, young male to be mentally, because he can cause a lot of damage and he doesn’t like that he lives at home or lives under a rock in this bureau of investigation (FBI) but he has no power. And then he suddenly sees all these shiny objects, these con artistes who are so good in what they do. They dress better than him and their life is sexy. So he just kind of wants to become them.

 

How do you feel about the cast that has been put together?

Feels like I have won a life lottery. I mean, to be put in a cast like this and play the role of Richie DiMaso, it’s crazy!

 

What is the kind of chemistry that Richie shares with Sydney Prosser, played by Amy Adams?

He is trying to show off to her. He’s always like, ‘Look what I did. I set this thing up to torture you. It was my idea’. He wants her to know that he is controlling the whole thing. He wants her to know that ‘I did this’. It is probably a very problematic place to be if you constantly want affirmation from people to know that you are making these decisions. But his love for her is pure. That is not a manipulation. He says, ‘I like you’, so he’s really like a kid.

Amy is incredible. In terms of our experience, it was just so easy with her. It all just flowed. There are very few scenes that Richie and Sydney have together to create the whole relationship in terms of how much space in the movie they have. I think we were really able to pack in a lot of information for the audience in these short scenes and that’s because it was so easy for us to work together.

 

What is David O. Russell’s style of working like?

David wrote a very specific script, very strict guidelines and then, he re-writes the stuff on the day that is very relevant to the story he wants to tell. It’s just happening in the moment. He’s making the decision now, he wants you to respond now, be able to dive in now. So it’s almost as if everything is happening in that very moment that we are doing it.

 

And did you enjoy working with him again?

I love that he’s there. Any time I’m working on a movie, I ask the director to be as close as possible. I can’t stand when they are back there and you cannot hear them. It just feels disconnected.

And what about working with Christian Bale?

With Christian, I was just so amazed standing with this man that I love as an actor in the same room… Richie DiMaso and Irving Rosefeld. I love the way we just got into it. It was kind of wonderful.

 

What will the audience take away from this movie?

Hopefully they’ll enjoy the magical moments of the movie. That’s what I enjoy. Delilah (the Tom Jones song features in the film’s soundtrack) , the nail polish scene (where Jennifer Lawrence’s Rosalyn asks her co-actors to smell her nail polish), the studio 54 (a popular New York nightclub in the ’70s and ’80s that inspired the film’s style), I love that whole section of the movie. It’s very special.

 

Do you feel you have evolved as an actor?

I’d say I’m more comfortable in the whole arena and each project you do, you learn more things. Whatever fears you have, sort of go away. Hopefully I’m a bigger asset to the director to see their vision through.