Bradley Cooper says he’s ‘lucky’ to have remained sober for 19 years

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Bradley Cooper discusses unburdening daughter Lea

Bradley Cooper discusses how he parents his only child, daughter Lea with ex Irina Shayk, and how he hopes to unburden her from his own issues.

Bradley Cooper is reflecting on his sobriety recently, saying it's now been 19 years since he struggled with drug and alcohol abuse. 

"I was lucky," the "A Star is Born" actor told Bear Gryllis on his show "Running Wild with Bear Gryllis: The Challenge." 

"I got sober at 29 years old, and I've been sober for 19 years. I've been very lucky," Cooper said.

The 48-year-old said he was grateful that his fame had been "incremental," noting that he was 36 when he played his "career-changing" role in 2009’s "The Hangover."

"I had already been in the game for 10 years just banging around, so I didn’t get lost in fame," he said. 

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Brady Cooper said he's been sober for 19 years.  (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

After Gryllis asked him about his "wild years," he answered, "In terms of alcohol and drugs, yeah, but nothing to do with fame, though."

He said his sobriety made it easier for him to play an addict in "A Star is Born."

"That made it easier to be able to really enter in there. And thank goodness I was at a place in my life where I was at ease with all of that so I could really let myself go," he said of the role. 

He added that he’s been "very lucky" with the roles he’s gotten over the years. "It’s been a real blessing. I hope I get to keep doing it."

Cooper said he was glad his success with "incremental" rather than overnight.  (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Cooper opened up about his addiction on the "Smartless" podcast last year, telling hosts Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes he felt "lost" after leaving the Jennifer Garner-left spy series "Alias," which he was on from 2001 until 2003.

"I was so lost, and I was addicted to cocaine — that was the other thing," Cooper said. "I severed my Achilles tendon right after I got fired-slash-quit ‘Alias’ and struggled with zero self-esteem."

He said moved to Los Angeles for his supporting role on "Alias" felt like being back in high school. 

"I could not get into any clubs, no girls wanted to look at me. I was totally depressed," he explained. 

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Cooper said he was glad he was sober when he played an addict in "A Star is Born."  (d Herrera via Getty Images)

Cooper credited then-roommate Arnett with sitting him down in 2000. 

"Will took that risk of having that hard conversation with me in, like, July of 2000, and that put me on a path of deciding to change my life," he said. "It truly was Will Arnett — he is the reason." 

The "Silver Linings Playbook" actor said he also struggled after his father died in his arms of cancer in 2011. 

"I definitely had a nihilistic attitude towards life after, just like I thought ‘I’m going to die,'" he told Gryllis as they hung over the side of a cliff on the show."I don’t know, it wasn’t great for a little bit until I realized I have to embrace who I actually am and try to find a peace with that, and then it sort of evened out."

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With his own daughter, Cooper said he hopes to be "rigorous with myself to grow and hopefully unburden her with my s---." 

At the end of the "Running Wild" episode, Cooper said that he'd felt pushed out of his comfort zone by the climbing challenges he faced with Grylls. 

"Every time whether I failed at it or succeeded I've just grown and become much more evolved as a human being and that has allowed me to have my relationships with other people to be more fruitful and allowed me to be a better father and allowed me to be a better human," he said.