Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been nominated for many awards, including four Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and two Golden Globes. Cooper appeared in Forbes Celebrity 100 on two occasions and Time's list of 100 most influential people in the world in 2015. His films have grossed $7.8 billion worldwide and he was named one of the world's highest-paid actors for three years. Cooper enrolled in the MFA program at the Actors Studio, New York City in 2000. His career began in 1999 with a guest role in the television series Sex and the City. He made his film debut two years later in the comedy Wet Hot American Summer. He first gained recognition as Will Tippin in the spy-action television show Alias (2001–2006), and achieved minor success with a supporting part in the comedy film Wedding Crashers (2005). His breakthrough role came in 2009 with The Hangover, a critically and commercially successful comedy, which spawned two sequels in 2011 and 2013. Cooper's portrayal of a struggling writer in the thriller Limitless (2011) and a rookie police officer in the crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) drew praise from critics. Cooper found greater success with the romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook (2012), a supporting role in the black comedy crime film American Hustle (2013), and producing and starring in the war biopic American Sniper (2014). For his work in these films, he was nominated for four Academy Awards, becoming the tenth actor to receive an Oscar nomination in three consecutive years. In 2014, he portrayed Joseph Merrick in a Broadway revival of The Elephant Man, garnering a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. That year he also voiced Rocket Raccoon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2018, Cooper directed his first film with the musical romantic drama A Star Is Born, and contributed to its writing and soundtrack.