Bradley Cooper Shares How Fatherhood Changed His Life

Bradley Cooper got candid about how fatherhood changed him.

During an appearance on Amazon Music and Wondery's "SmartLess" podcast earlier this month, the "A Star is Born" actor, 47, opened up about his personal journey with drug and alcohol addiction and shared how being a parent has put things in perspective for him while chatting with hosts Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes.

Cooper, who shares 5-year-old daughter Lea De Seine with ex Irina Shayk, revealed that overcoming addiction and becoming a father helped him build self-esteem and have a healthy relationship with himself.

"Fatherhood is … everything changed," the actor was quoted as saying by People. "Every single thing is absolutely shaded by, or brought into glorious colors, by the fact that I get to be a father to a wonderful human being."

He added, "You have this wonderful thing or breakthrough with a script, or you have a wonderful moment on this set or in an editing room … you have like 40 of those moments every day with your kid, that are that level of joy. That's not spinning it, that's just the truth."

The "Hangover" star also previously shared that being a dad helps him live in the moment and be more "present."

"Having a child, and having a family of my own — which is a miracle and something I've always dreamt of — has opened me up even more, I guess, to the day, and to be present," he told NPR in 2018 while discussing the personal story behind his directorial debut, "A Star is Born."

Cooper and Shayk split in 2019 after four years of dating, but they remain amicable as they co-parent their daughter.

They have been spotted publicly with their child multiple times since their breakup, and they even sparked reconciliation rumors in December 2021 when the Russian model joined him at the premiere of the Guillermo del Toro-directed crime thriller "Nightmare Alley."

Cooper told Entertainment Tonight at the time that having his ex with him on his big night was "very special."

Shayk, for her part, has praised Cooper as "the most amazing dad." She told Highsnobiety last year that the actor is "a full-on, hands-on dad" and does not have a nanny when their daughter Lea is with him.

The model also discussed their role as co-parents in a May 2021 interview with Elle. "I never understood the term co-parenting," she said. "When I'm with my daughter, I'm 100% a mother, and when she's with her dad, he's 100% her dad. Co-parenting is parenting."