Bradley Cooper explains why he lives with his mom

By Nardine Saad

April 16, 2013 12 AM PT

Bradley Cooper lives with his mom. Yes, you read that right. The Sexiest Man Alive in 2011 calls his mother, Gloria — this year’s Oscar date — his roommate.

In Details magazine’s May issue, the cover boy and “The Place Beyond the Pines” star opened up about why he moved in with his mother after his father, Charles, died in 2011 following a long struggle with cancer.

“We’re surviving. Both of us. Let’s face it: It’s probably not easy for her, by the way, to be living with her son. It’s life,” Cooper said.

“And right now, two years after my father’s death, this is where we are. My family is very close, and my dad dying was brutal for all of us. It was a schism, and its aftershock has not stopped. And we need each other. So here we are. But don’t get me wrong. It’s not without complications. It’s not like I live in a compound and she’s in the guesthouse. No. She’s in the next room. But here’s the thing: She’s a cool chick. We can hang, and she can roll with the punches. If that wasn’t the case, there’s no way.”

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The actor actually revealed his living situation to Esquire in June 2011, explaining that he’d moved in with his parents five months before his father died. The actor told the mag that he took his father to an Eagles playoff game on a Sunday and he died the following Saturday. He also wore his father’s wedding ring on his left hand and brought his mom to live with him in L.A., which has brought them closer together than ever.

“I love having her,” he said at the time. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

In this interview with Details magazine’s editor in chief, Daniel Peres, Cooper gives long-winded answers about his childhood aspirations to be a soldier, his spirituality, his Oscar chances and meeting President Obama. But his most striking and thoughtful responses come from his relationship with his late father.

“I exhale a lot. I was thinking about this yesterday. My mind is pretty clear. My mind has been pretty clear for a long time,” Cooper said of how he found a sense of calm during the busiest year of his life.

“My father’s death had this impact on me. It’s like I was saying about when I wanted to be a soldier. I think my father’s death addressed some of the fears or quandaries I had as a child about mortality. It was his parting gift to me. Watching this man — my father — leave his body and go. Watching him die. All of a sudden I was like, ‘Oh, right, I’m going to die too.’ Here it is. It’s not in a book. It’s not in a movie. It’s not in a story that was told to me. It’s not driving by an accident or watching it on TV. It’s someone you love dying in front of you. I was like, ‘Okay. This is death. And this is going to happen to me one day.’ There was a huge freedom that came with that. So now I just don’t sweat the ... small stuff. My mind is just less busy now.”

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The 38-year-old said that he would “sweat the small stuff” throughout high school, college and as an actor, but his father’s death allowed him to be more at ease with being himself.

“And if someone’s not going to like me, that’s just the way it is. I used to think, ‘Oh, my God. I don’t want to make anyone not like me. I don’t want to ruffle any feathers.’ Now it’s like, ‘I’m just going to be myself and trust that.’ And I’m enjoying life more.”

After filming “Wedding Crashers” and “The Hangover,” Cooper said he was surprised at how many people didn’t think he was really acting — rather, that he simply was that guy in those movies.

“To me, I look at that guy in ‘The Hangover,’ and that’s a full character that I worked on with the director to fit the story. Just like Sack Lodge in ‘Wedding Crashers,’” he said. “So I’m creating characters that I think are full and rich, and everyone thought I was that guy. People must have thought I was that dude — this cocky ... guy. But that’s what people had to go on.

“I’m somebody who likes to know everything. Acting and moviemaking are an art form, sure, but it’s also my business. This is how I make my living. I want and need to know all the bad [stuff]. So I surround myself with people who are honest with me.”

Cooper will reunite with “Silver Linings Playbook” director David O. Russell and Oscar-winning costar Jennifer Lawrence in a 1970s Boston-set flick called “American Hustle,” E! News reports. Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner also star in the film, which still hasn’t set a premiere date.

The actor, who is currently dating 20-year-old model Suki Waterhouse, said he’d also like to be a father one day.

“I really hope I have that experience in my life. I saw how much joy fatherhood gave my own dad. So I hope it’s part of my journey. You go through stages in your life, and fatherhood seems like a natural stage.”