Bradley Cooper Opens Up About Scary Experience Being Held at Knifepoint

Bradley Cooper is already no stranger to fans coming up to him for autographs or selfies but the unthinkable apparently happened to the Guardians of the Galaxy star before the pandemic began as he had an altercation with a stranger in New York that could've gone ugly in a hurry. The actor is finally opening up about his horrific experience being held at knifepoint by a man on an NYC subway.

Credit: Marvel Studios

Appearing on the Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert Podcast (via ComicBook), the Rocket Raccoon voice actor shared his near-death experience. Thanks to his presence of mind and alertness, the assailant wasn't able to 'cause him or anyone harm during the incident.

Recalling the surreal incident, Cooper shared: "I used to walk around New York City all the time with these [headphones] on-this was pre-pandemic-I was on the subway [at] 11:45 to pick Lea downtown at Russian school and I got held up at knifepoint."

The A Star is Born actor admitted that he may have been way too comfortable with the city and let his guard down which led to the horrific occurrence. He added: 'It was pretty insane. I realized I had gotten way, way too comfortable in the city. My guard was down. I was all the way at the end of the subway. I felt somebody coming up. I thought, 'Oh, they want to take a photo or something.' As I turned, I'm up against the post like it's the French Connection or some s--t, and I turned. I looked down and I see a knife. I have my headphones on the whole time."

"I can't hear anything. I'm just listening to music. So it's scored, the whole thing was scored. I look up, I see the person's eyes, and I'm taken by how young they are. I jumped over the turnstile, hid around the white, tiled foyer entrance to the subway [and] took my phone out. I took a photo of him and then I chased him up the stairs."

Also Read: James Gunn Confirms Fan-Favorite Character is No Longer Returning for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

There's a reason why A-list celebrities like Bradley Cooper are oftentimes accompanied by security personnel wherever they go and after his encounter with the mugger, he's probably become extra cautious which of course isn't a bad thing. Thankfully, nothing serious happened to him.


Bradley Cooper is set to return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.