Georgetown President John J. DeGioia sits and talks to Bradley Cooper and Blair Rich on stage in Gaston Hall.
Category: Alumni

Title: Bradley Cooper Says Directorial Debut Mirrored Goal to Get Into Georgetown

“I had one of the most incredible experiences … in my life.”

Bradley Cooper (C’97), actor and director

Bradley Cooper takes a selfie with a group of students standing in the aisle in Gaston Hall.

Cooper said he applied to Georgetown after high school, but didn’t get accepted until after transferring from basketball rival Villanova University.

“Everybody told me that I shouldn’t go here [to the rival school], that I shouldn’t be here … [but] I had one of the most incredible experiences … in my life,” said Cooper, who last spoke at Georgetown in 2010.

An English major and French minor at Georgetown, he performed in the university’s Nomadic Theatre and its gospel choir.

Before the talk and Q&A with students in the audience, students studying film were invited to attend two screenings of the new movie, which will officially be released Oct. 5 and has already received rave reviews from critics.

Students line up for the microphone in the aisle among a crowded audience.

Though Cooper and Rich are in the same Georgetown College class of 1997, they didn’t get to know one another until after they graduated.

Rich, president of worldwide marketing for Warner Bros. Pictures Group and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, is responsible for the marketing success of box office hits such as Wonder Woman and Crazy Rich Asians.

“Whether you guys are just arriving now for the first time or you’ve been here for a couple years, the pride in being a Hoya is a real thing that stays with you.”

Blair Rich (C’97), president of worldwide marketing for Warner Bros. Pictures Group and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Bradley Cooper looks on as Blair Rich speaks to the audience as they are seated on stage.

“We both have this incredible pride in having attended Georgetown,” said Rich, who majored in government. “Whether you guys are just arriving now for the first time or you’ve been here for a couple years, the pride in being a Hoya is a real thing that stays with you.”