What if Oscar voters pick Bradley Cooper’s nose?
Now that the nominees are out, it’s time to once more consider the controversial prosthetic
Bradley Cooper, as Leonard Bernstein, gets fresh makeup. Photo by Jason McDonald/Netflix
By PJ Grisar January 23, 2024
The Oscar nominees are out, and maybe we should spare a thought for Bradley Cooper and, yes, his schnozz.
Cooper, who many say committed the cardinal sin of wanting an Academy Award too much, was bypassed for a best director nomination, even as his film Maestro is up for best picture, original screenplay and lead actor for himself. But as early as the first production photos, Cooper’s film couldn’t shake the scent of controversy.
Some took aim at the non-Jewish Cooper’s phony proboscis in the role of noted Jew Leonard Bernstein, and, keeping his real nose clean during the actor’s strike, Cooper couldn’t defend his decision until days before the film’s limited release. But if the Golden Globes — during which Rob Lowe made the major gaffe of congratulating Cooper over text for an award won by Cillian Murphy — are any kind of barometer, it seems extremely likely that Maestro won’t be walking away with much of an Oscars haul. The exception, of course, might be for a category the Globes doesn’t recognize: hair and makeup.
It is possible that Maestro, which has so far whiffed the whole awards season, may be recognized for the controversial prosthetics designed by Kazu Hiro. Or the award could go to Golda, a film similarly besieged with accusations of “Jewface.” By rights it should go to Poor Things for attaching what looks like a slab of ham to Willem Dafoe’s face, but there’s no guarantee that voters go for the whimsical when they can instead laud the transformation of a recognizable actor into another famous person, as the awards are wont to do. Maestro could win by a nose.
Where does that leave us? As concern over antisemitism rises, even as many, including Bernstein’s children and writers for the Forward, are none too bothered by Cooper’s fake physiognomy, a win would place the conversation over who is allowed to play a Jew back in the spotlight for another grueling round of discourse.
This, of course, would be a distraction from an otherwise great slate of films, among them Jonathan Glazer’s stunning Zone of Interest and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which, to my surprise, contains more Jewish content (and even more Yiddish) than Cooper’s treatment of one of the world’s foremost Jewish artists.
There is a historic potential win for Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon, a low-key Jewish nominee (Anatomy of a Fall’s co-writer Arthur Harari, grandson of Egyptian-French actor Clément Harari) and even a possible posthumous accolade for The Band frontman Robbie Robertson’s score for Killers. In this field, Maestro, whose concern with Bernstein’s sexuality can’t help but feel dated, doesn’t stand much of a chance in anything but a technical award. Whether the work passed the smell test for everyone is another matter.
Either the Academy will pick the nose, or it will turn theirs up at Maestro. In any case, it’s not worth getting our own noses out of joint for.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
