True, he wasn’t exactly an unknown. But after years of toiling away in best-buddy roles, Bradley Cooper finally ditched his That-Guy-In-Wedding-Crashers identity this summer thanks to the left-field success of The Hangover. The low-budget comedy made over $270 million and gave a well-deserved career-boost to each of its three leads: Cooper, The Office’s Ed Helms, and loose-cannon comedian Zach Galifianakis.
But of that cast, it’s Cooper who now seems best poised for a shot at the A-List. He’s already snagged tabloid covers thanks to a few photo-ready flings with high-profile actresses (much to the chagrin of EW’s own Michael Slezak). And while this weekend’s All About Steve probably won’t be a gold star on his resume, the actor’s other upcoming projects — the all-star rom-com Valentine’s Day with Julia Roberts and Anne Hathaway and a big-screen version of The A-Team, not to mention a Hangover sequel — all have huge box office potential. Now we just have to wait and see if Cooper can hang on to his Hangover momentum long enough to establish himself as a real leading man.
Of course, Cooper wasn’t the only rising star of the summer. Ryan Reynolds scored back-to-back blockbusters with Wolverine and The Proposal (not to mention a scorching hot EW cover), while Star Trek crewmembers Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, and Zoe Saldana all look primed to live long and prosper in Hollywood. And let’s not forget District 9’s Sharlto Copley, (500) Days of Summer’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, and Inglourious Basterds‘ lovely Melanie Laurent — all of whom are now on ready to join the big leagues in Hollywood.
So, PopWatchers, who’s your pick for the summer’s breakout star?
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Bradley Cooper for sure in film.
Alexsander Sarsgaard on TV
I gotta go with Sharlto Copley. I don’t know that he’s ever going to be big Hollywood box office, but he’s absolutely the guy where you walk out of the theater thinking “Who the heck is this guy, and how have I never heard of him before”. Amazing performance, and a potential Oscar. Sort of this year’s version of Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone”.
“Movie Stah” break-out for this summer is Bradley Cooper for sure. I agree with Snarf about Sarsgaard; he’s unquestionably the fan favorite in ‘True Blood’.
I’m most interested in what Sharlto Copley is going to do next. If there is justice he’ll get a nomination for his role as Wickus but that’s always going to be tough because the Oscars game is politics and campaigning. He’s more along the lines of “future acting award contender” if he picks his roles well, and so a breakout star as well.
Melanie Laurent will be the next Eva Green.
Zachary Quinto and Bradley Cooper for sure!!!
Yesss a shout-out for Melanie Laurent!
i like the guy but i think he well never be able to get rid of the douche vibe people associate with him after the Wedding Crashers
Hard to say, since there has been many breakouts this. But I think I’ll go with The Hangover hat trick: Cooper, Helms, Galifianakis. Also big shout outs to Sharlto Copley, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, and a big shout out to Christoph Waltz from Basterds. I thought that he was a bigger breakout than Lauent.
Two words: Sam. Worthington.
Also, Chris Hemsworth certainly made the most of his limited screen time in “Star Trek.”
I just finally saw “Distric 9″ yesterday, and I agree: Sharlto Copley’s pretty good, too. Not bad for an unseasoned fellow. And the director of “D9″ – wow, I can’t wait to see more of the “District” story or anything else.
Off “Basterds,” someone needs to pluck Sönke Möhring and make him happen stateside.
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Thank you for Zachary Quinto. Now all we need to do is get him off of Heroes. Also great to see Joseph come out into the mainstream and break out of ‘The 3rd Rock from the Sun Kid’ stigma.
Joseph has always been a good actor – even before he was on 3rd rock – as a small kid. He has always been fantastic in indie films (see Brick, Stop-Loss and many others) so his success is well-earned.
I will always and forever remember Bradley Cooper as the guy who had sex with Michael Ian Black in Wet Hot American Summer.
As far as breakout stars that came out of nowhere, definitely Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz. I’ve loved Bradley Cooper since his Alias days, so the fact that he’s suddenly a “big star” is just weird to me.
This is exactly the problem with Hollywood. They guy has a sleeper hit and now he is going to be in every movie until we get completely sick of him. They don’t realize it’s good movies the audience wants, not star vehicles. Look at how many $20mil stars had bombs this year. Make good movies with good actors and people will come. Stop trying to make “stars”.
Agree with all mentioned, but how about Michael Fassbender from Inglourious Basterds?
I’m rooting for Sharlto Copely. As a South African, you realise that initially he really was a just caricature that we play up for laughs in our ads and comedy skits but he was broke through that and became so real by the end. Also liked Zoe Saladana in Star Trek. Truly fiesty.
I’ll go with Bradley. He’ll always be Will Tippin to me and it is weird that he could become the biggest star off Alias. Jennifer Garner’s chance has come and gone. I find it funny that Michael Vartan is stuck on some crappy medical drama.
What? “Jennifer Garner’s chance has come and gone”???? Are you serious? Did you not see Juno? Also how would Bradley Cooper’s career be if he had recently given birth twice? Do not rule out Jennifer Garner; she is a huge talent who will be around our movie theatres for years to come
I agree! Jennifer’s wonderful.