Bradley Cooper has come a long way since he left Philadelphia. First, he attended Georgetown University and graduated in 1997 from the Honors English program. From there, Bradley moved to New York City to enroll in the Masters of Fine Arts program at the Actors Studio Drama School at New School University. While there, Cooper worked on his stage performance. Bradley's thesis performance was the role of John Merrick in Bernard Pomerance's "The Elephant Man." "The Elephant Man" was the movie that helped Mr. Cooper realize that he wanted to become an actor. As he told Movieline magazine in an interview, "When I was 12 I saw David Lynch's The Elephant Man and my whole body just cringed at John Hurt's performance. I was like, 'Oh my God, I wanna be in that world!'"

Cooper has had many bit parts on television, leading up to his first starring role as reporter Will Tippin on the ABC hit drama series 'Alias.' While still in school, Cooper guest-starred on "Sex and the City" as one of Carrie's (Sarah Jessica Parker's) love interests. Bradley was also one of the hosts on the Discovery Channel's "Extreme Treks in a Wild World." Being the host gave Cooper the chance to travel around the world, participating in events such as whale watching and white river rafting. Before getting his role on Alias, Cooper starred in an unaired pilot for the WB called "Wall to Wall Records." For this pilot, he worked with another actor Jordan Bridges ("Dawson's Creek") and writer Josh Schwartz (Creator, Executive Producer, "The O.C.").

Bradley decided to forego his graduation ceremony from the Actors Studio to star in his first movie, "Wet Hot American Summer." This movie, a film by the guys behind MTV's "The State," also co-starred such names as Janeane Garafalo, David Hyde Pierce, and Paul Rudd. The next film Bradley starred in is "Carnival Knowledge." This independent film has not yet had a wide-release but has been shown briefly in Tampa, Florida.

While still in New York, Bradley co-starred on the short lived Darren Star series, "The $treet" opposite Jennie Garth, Tom Everett Scott, and Jennifer Connelly. Bradley and Ms. Garth co-starred once again in the Hallmark movie "The Last Cowboy."

In "Changing Lanes," Bradley played the role of Gordon Pinella, a young law student wanting to earn a position in a law firm alongside co-star Ben Affleck. Sadly, Bradley's scenes were cut from the film, but they do appear on the DVD as a deleted scene. But fans will have yet another chance to see Bradley onscreen in the independent film, "My Little Eye" as Travis Peterson.

The role of Will was the main reason for Bradley's move across the United States, from New York to Los Angeles. Although his character got off to a rocky start with the fans of "Alias," he eventually won the fans over. Bradley left Alias after the second season but returned once as a guest star during the third season. There is always the possiblity for future appearances.

Since leaving Alias, Bradley has been no stranger to the television. He appeared on the short-lived USA show "Touching Evil" as an FBI agent Mark Rivers. He appeared in "Miss Match" and the ABC Family movie "I Want to Marry Ryan Banks." Currently, Bradley can be seen on the WB's "Jack & Bobby" portraying TA Tom Wexler Graham. The future holds more projects for this promising young actor, such as the big screen film "The Wedding Crashers" and a starring role in a Fox pilot "Kitchen Confidential."

Yet another fact: Bradley was a medallist on the Men's Heavyweight Crew team at Georgetown.
And another: Spent weekends in school working with LEAP (Learning through the Expanded Arts Program), a non-profit organization that teaches acting and movement to inner city school children.
And another: According to his resume, Bradley speaks fluent French.

Source: bradley-cooper.com