Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

American Sniper: Bradley Cooper 'ate every 55 minutes' to bulk up for role as Chris Kyle

The Oscar-nominated actor ate around 8000 calories per day while filming

Jess Denham
Tuesday 20 January 2015 12:26 EST
Comments
Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in American Sniper
Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in American Sniper (Warner Bros)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Bradley Cooper ate four times the recommended number of calories per day to prepare for his lead role in American Sniper, it has been revealed.

The Hollywood actor put on more than 40 pounds to play late Navy SEAL Chris 'Legend' Kyle in the Oscar-nominated film, while also adhering to a strict fitness regime.

“He was eating about every 55 minutes or something like that, and I want to say it was about 8,000 calories a day,” writer and producer Jason Hall told People.

“Bradley used his own trainer, who was busting on him. I think he was working out four hours a day for several months. He was determined to do it naturally, he didn’t want to use any hormones or steroids or anything.”

In dedication to the role, Cooper watched hours of real footage of Kyle to make his portrayal as accurate as possible and worked with a vocal coach twice daily to sound the part too.

“There were moments where they’d get him at a certain angle and you just felt Chris, you felt the essence of Chris,” said Hall. “Standing behind the monitors, I’d just get goosebumps rushing up my legs.”

Coper is up for best actor at next month's Academy Awards, when he will compete with British actors Eddie Redmayne and Benedict Cumberbatch.

American Sniper broke US box office records last weekend to score the highest-earning January opening with $99.5 million.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in