See Bradley Cooper Transform Into Leonard Bernstein in 1st ‘Maestro’ Trailer

Bradley Cooper’s transformation into Leonard Bernstein for Maestro looked impressive when set photos started leaking last year, but now fans can finally see him in action in the movie’s first trailer. Cooper, 48, stars as the legendary conductor in the upcoming Netflix drama, which hits theaters on November 22. The trailer focuses on Bernstein’s relationship with wife Felicia Montealegre, whom he married in 1951. Carey Mulligan stars as Montealegre, who died of lung cancer in 1978 at age 56. The clip shows Bernstein and Montealegre playing a guessing game at various points in their life together. “So how long do we have to do this for?” Bernstein asks his wife, who replies, “Oh, we need to build up a very strong connection.”

Cooper directed and cowrote Maestro, which will have its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in September. The movie also stars Maya Hawke as Bernstein and Montealegre’s daughter, Jamie, and Michael Urie as choreographer Jerome Robbins. Cooper’s physical transformation for the role has made plenty of headlines, with some critics questioning the use of a larger prosthetic nose to play Bernstein, who was Jewish. The film’s makeup artist is Kazu Hiro, who has won two Oscars for his work on 2017’s Darkest Hour and 2019’s Bombshell.