WATCH: Is that a prosthetic? Bradley Cooper goes gay for Netflix’s buzzy Leonard Bernstein biopic
A Star Is Born, actor-turned-filmmaker Bradley Cooper tapped Lady Gaga to play pop star Ally Maine. For his follow-up, Cooper sets his sights on yet another great American musician: Leonard Bernstein.Maestro is a biopic of the celebrated composer—whose award-winning work includes the timeless music of West Side Story—specifically told through the lens of his relationship with actress Felicia Montealegre.
The two had three children together and were married for 27 years, until Montealegre’s death in 1978. But, all the while, Bernstein was having affairs with men—something his wife was reportedly aware of.For the film, Cooper dons some (debatable) prosthetics and goes “gay for pay” to play Bernstein, while the great Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, An Education) stars as Montealegre.
The official plot synopsis calls Maestro “a towering and fearless love story chronicling [their] lifelong relationship,” and the first trailer focuses heavily on their connection.But there is much more to the story, and by all accounts Maestro will also touch on some of the composer’s queer romances, and the impact they had on his marriage.Blink and you’ll miss it, but the trailer does include a few fleeting scenes where Cooper gets close with Broadway veteran Gideon Glick as Tommy Cothran, a music scholar who lived with Bernstein for a short period of time.Additionally, Cooper and Matt Bomer made some headlines last summer when they were spotted smooching on the set of the film.
It’s unknown who, exactly, Bomer will be playing, but Variety reports he’s a clarinet player and one of Bernstein’s lovers.Cooper is directing and starring in the movie about Leonard Bernstein.Elsewhere in the cast is comedian Sarah Silverman as Bernstein’s.
