Animal Oscar Contenders: A Star Is Born
By the end of Bradley Cooper’s remake of the timeless Hollywood love story, there was another star born besides Ally.
Charlie, the dog shared by Lady Gaga’s ingenue and Cooper’s country rocker Jackson Maine, stole the hearts of not only his onscreen parents but audiences everywhere after the film was released in October.
Cooper, who stars in and directed the drama, didn’t have to look far when it came to casting the couple’s pooch for his directorial debut. He chose his very own labradoodle.
“That bond with Bradley is natural and can’t be duplicated,” a Warner Bros. spokesperson tells THR.
The golden-haired pup proved a scene-stealer in his own right, as viewers watched him leap into Cooper’s arms when playing in the star-crossed couple’s Laurel Canyon-esque backyard. But he also did some emotional heavy lifting after a fateful scene in a garage near the end of the film.
Aside from the fun that comes with casting his very own “man’s best friend,” Cooper included Charlie in his directorial debut as a way to honor his late father, Charles J. Cooper, for whom the dog is named. Cooper’s father died in 2011 after a battle with lung cancer.
