Bradley Cooper defends himself after receiving backlash for using a fake nose to play Jewish character

Bradley Cooper has defended himself for using a fake nose to play a Jewish character in the upcoming Netflix film Maestro.

The musical romance follows the relationship between American composer Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) and his wife Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan).

Netflix’s official release describes the film as 'a love letter to life and art, Maestro at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love'.

However, leading up to the release of the movie, the attention has not exactly been on the story the film's makers are trying to tell.

That is because all the noise has been surrounding Cooper's prosthetic nose, which was first spotted by fans in the trailer.

Jewish actor Tracy-Ann Oberman, who is known for appearances in Doctor Who, previously told Page Six: “If Bradley Cooper is able to play the Elephant Man without any prosthetics, he should be able to play a Jewish man without any need for prosthetics - especially a ‘Jewish nose'."

She added: “If he needs to wear a prosthetic nose then that is, to me and many others, the equivalent of Black-Face or Yellow-Face.”

CBS

Many have also criticized Cooper - who directed and co-wrote the movie - for casting himself in a Jewish role instead of a Jewish actor.

Now, ahead of the release of Maestro, Cooper has defended himself following all the backlash that has come his way.

Speaking to CBS' Gayle King, Cooper said: "The truth is… I’d done this whole process out of love, and it’s so clear to me where I come from.

"My nose is very similar to Lenny’s, actually. I thought, ‘Maybe we don’t need to do it,’ but it’s all about balance, and, you know, my lips are nothing like Lenny’s, and my chin."

The actor reiterated that his appearance wouldn't have looked 'right' without the prosthetic.

"By the time he’s older, it’s the whole face [that had prosthetics], so we just had to do it," Cooper added.

"Otherwise, I wouldn’t believe he was a human being."

Despite the backlash, Bernstein's family previously spoke out in defense of Cooper, while the makeup artist who created the nose has also addressed matter.

Netflix

In a statement posted online, they said: "It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of [Cooper's] efforts.

"It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use make-up to amplify his resemblance, and we're perfectly fine with that. We're also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well.

"Any strident complaints around this issue strike us above all as disingenuous attempts to bring a successful person down a notch - a practice we observed all too often perpetrated on our own father.

"At all times during the making of this film, we could feel the profound respect and yes, the love that Bradley brought to his portrait of Leonard Bernstein and his wife, our mother Felicia. We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Bradley, and we can't wait for the world to see his creation."

Maestro will have a limited theatrical release on November 22 before it hits Netflix on December 20.