Bradley Cooper took a big risk to land one of his earliest roles.
The actor, 49, was honored with the Outstaning Performer of the Year title at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on Thursday, where he sat down for a Q&A about his past performances.
Around the 11-minute mark of the clip below, Cooper recalled his 1999 appearance on the former HBO comedy-drama, where he played a love interest to Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker).
Upon looking back at the role, Cooper admitted, "I'm getting older."
He added, "That's what I was thinking, like, 'Shit, I've been around, dude.' It's crazy. You feel young, but it's like, 'Yeah, I'm not young.' It's just a fact."
When asked to elaborate on nabbing a role on the show, Cooper discussed the audition process where he lied about his driving skills to play "Jake the downtown smoker."
"I auditioned for it and at that time, Pete [Hammond], I didn't really realize that you could get the job," the actor said. "I had a job, I was a doorman at the Morgan Hotel, and then I was lucky enough to audition."
Securing a spot on Sex and the City called for dramatic measures, such as Cooper pretending that he knew how to drive stick shift.
“I remember when I got the call to do it I was terrified. ‘What do you mean I'm actually going to have to do it?’” he continued. “I couldn't drive a stick shift, so they sent me to Models Driving School and I was just terrified. And I still messed it up, so they had somebody else drive the car and I just had to...pretend that we stopped.”
However the scene ended up being "really fun" for the 10-time Oscar nominee and Parker.
Now 26 years into his acting career, Cooper will take on the 94th Academy Awards on Mar. 10, where he's nominated for Best Actor, Best Picture, and Best Original Screenplay for Maestro.
