Young Bradley Cooper spotted in old TV footage

What a charming young man…

He might be one of the biggest names in Hollywood, but even Bradley Cooper used to admire the stars.

Footage has emerged online of a surfer-haired Bradley Cooper in the audience of a 1999 episode of US TV show ‘Inside The Actor’s Studio’, hosted by James Lipton.

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In the clip, Bradley, then a 24-year-old acting student, is given the chance to ask actor Sean Penn a question.

“Hey Mr Penn. My name’s Bradley Cooper, I’m a second year actor,” he politely introduces himself. “My question is regarding ‘Hurlyburly’.”

“What was it like to revisit a character, Eddie, after a 10 year hiatus? Did you have new discoveries? Did you find that it was a different approach, because you had already done this character before?” he asks.

Sean responds, and Bradley leans in, eager to learn all about the process. Check out the footage here.

The episode, which aired on 17 January 1999, also featured Robert De Niro and Steven Spielberg. This clip has actually been drifting online for a while, but it's only just come to light.

Jump forward 12 years to March 2012 and Bradley himself sat comfortably in the iconic spot, the first graduate of The Actor’s Studio Drama School to ever return to the show. Who’d have thought it?

Bradley is nominated for Best Actor at this Sunday’s 85th Academy Awards, for his role in David O. Russell’s ‘Silver Linings Playbook’.