Leonard Bernstein's family defends Bradley Cooper after facing backlash for his fake nose

The family of Leonard Bernstein have defended Bradley Cooper's portrayal of the late composer after he received backlash.

Cooper plays American composer Leonard Bernstein in the upcoming Netflix film Maestro.

The movie follows the relationship between Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan).

In the teaser trailer, the 48-year-old actor, who is of Irish-Italian descent, is seen wearing a noticeably larger nose.

The appearance of this fake nose to play the Bernstein, who was Jewish, has led to some criticism.

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Jewish actor Tracy-Ann Oberman, who is known for appearances in Doctor Who, told Page Six Cooper wearing the nose is equivalent to blackface or yellowface.

She said: "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'.

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

However, Bernstein's family have now spoken out in defense of Cooper.

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

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"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."

The statement, posted by Bernstein's children, also notes that they were consulted throughout the creative process.

They said: "We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father's music, and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration."

Maestro will have a limited theatrical release on 22 Nov before hitting Netflix on 20 Dec.