Bradley Cooper Reveals Reaction To Oscar Snub For Best Director

“A Star is Born” received eight Academy Awards nominations, but the Oscars snubbed Bradley Cooper in one particular category—best director. That made Cooper feel “embarrassed.”

The Oscar snub came up during a taping of Oprah Winfrey’s “SuperSoul Conversations,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Cooper revealed to Winfrey that his publicist told him about all the nominations he received, and he noticed that best director wasn’t on the list.

“Nicole [Caruso, Cooper’s publicist] had texted me congratulations on these other things but didn’t tell me the bad news,” he explained. “And I went, ‘Oh, wow.’ And the first thing I felt was embarrassment, actually. Think about it. I felt embarrassed that I didn’t do my part.”

Don’t worry about the “Guardians of the Galaxy” star. He realized that he can’t rely on awards for validation. “Even if I got the nomination, it should not give me any sense of whether I did my job or not. That’s the trick, to make something that you believe in,” he added.

Cooper made his directorial debut with his “A Star Is Born” remake, which he starred in alongside Lady Gaga. Though he isn’t up for best director, he is nominated in the best actor category. Sam Elliot is nominated for best supporting actor, and Gaga is nominated for best actress. “Shallow,” which Cooper and Gaga sing, is nominated for best original song. The movie is also up for best sound mixing, best cinematography, best adapted screenplay and the coveted best picture.

The 91st annual Academy Awards air Sunday, Feb. 28 on ABC.