Bradley Cooper is unrecognizable in the first look of his upcoming film “Maestro.”
The biographical drama stars Cooper as the legendary Broadway composer Leonard Bernstein, alongside Carey Mulligan as Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre.
The celebrated composer, credited with reinventing the American musical, died in November 2021 at age 91.
Netflix released photos from the set on Monday, showing Cooper transformed into Bernstein at various stages in the musical icon’s life.
The stunning hair and make up work morphed the Oscar-nominated actor and director, 47, into Bernstein, from a handsome young Broadway upstart to an aged veteran composer.
Before production began, Scott Stuber, the head of global films at Netflix, told Variety about the time and effort put into Cooper’s transformation.
“We’ve done a lot of work on the makeup. We’ve done a lot of work on the voice. I’m excited to see someone so deeply focused on creating a story that means so much to him. And Carey Mulligan is an incredible actress,” he said.
Although the first look was released on Monday, the film is not scheduled for release until 2023.
Cooper recently shared that he contemplated quitting acting before being called for this role, admitting that he always wanted to be a composer himself.
“I was obsessed with it, asked Santa Claus for a baton when I was 8. Listening to music, falling in love with it and being able to really know every single moment of a piece, like Tchaikovsky’s Opus 35 in D major, this violin concerto. I could do it as if I know everything about it without really being able to speak the language, obviously,” he told Variety.
Steven Spielberg, who just finished directing the remake of Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” was originally attached and recruited Cooper to star in the film despite the actor’s hesitance.
“I always knew that Steven Spielberg knew that I had this obsession with conducting,” Cooper said. “He had this biopic idea and was talking to me about potentially acting in it. But I had just been working on ‘A Star Is Born.’ And I said, ‘Listen, all I want to do is write and direct movies. I always felt like I could play a conductor, but may I research the material and see if I can write it and direct it? Would you let me do that?’”
This film also serves as Cooper’s directorial follow-up to the Oscar and Grammy winning movie starring Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born.”