Bradley Cooper opened up about the profound impact that fatherhood has had on his life, giving credit to his 6-year-old daughter, Lea De Seine, for keeping him alive.
The 49-year-old actor made the heartfelt revelation on an episode of the Armchair Expert podcast, which is hosted by Dax Shepard.
Bradley confessed during the episode about how he did not feel a strong fatherly connection immediately after the birth of Lea De Seine, whom he welcomed in March 2017 with his then-girlfriend, Irina Shayk. But as time passed, he said he found himself growing irrevocably in love with her.
Bradley Cooper said his little girl became the "anchor" in his life
Image credits: Armchair Expert
“I just needed someone to say, like, ‘We’re gonna drop this massive anchor,’” the Silver Linings Playbook actor said about fatherhood on the podcast’s Monday episode.
“I’m like, ‘Why? We’re speeding! I just got an upgrade on the boat, and I know where the wind’s coming in.’ They’re like, ‘No, no, no, there’s a tsunami coming in, and you need an anchor, and we’re gonna drop it.’ Because this is gonna dictate everything you do from now on. Your DNA is going to tell you that there’s something more important than you,” he continued.
Bradley, who has previously opened up about his battles with addiction over the years, credited his daughter for keeping him alive.
"Honestly, I'm not sure I'd be alive if I wasn't a dad," he said on the podcast.
"I don't know what would have happened. I am not sure," Bradley added.
The actor admitted that for the first few months of his daughter's life, he wasn't sure if "[he] really love[d] the kid"
Image credits: MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images / Getty Images
The actor also spoke candidly about how he did not have the typical fatherly feelings that people talk about when they have a baby.
“The first, like, eight months, I’m like, ‘I don’t even know if I really love the kid,’” he recalled. “It’s dope, it’s cool, I’m watching this thing morph, and then, all of a sudden, my experience was totally that. Fascinated by it, love taking care of it. Would I die if someone came in with a gun? It’s only a couple of months! … She could be an asshole!”
“And then, all of a sudden, it’s like no question,” he added.
As a father, Bradley Cooper said he wants to do the least amount of damage to his daughter
Bradley, who is now enamored by his daughter, said it's "fulfilling" to know that his little girl always feels safe.
"I'm a father [seeking to do] the least amount of damage I can do to my daughter. To have a child not grow up in that way … I want her to have as much as she can, a foundation that's like 25 feet-thick cement that she can walk on this earth with. That's the goal,” Bradley said.
"I can just feel the safety that she feels,” he added. “It's so tangible; it's palpable. That is so fulfilling.”