“I was embarrassed. I was at a coffee shop in New York City and looked down at my phone and Nicole [Caruso, his publicist] has told me congratulations and said what we had been nominated for,” he said, via People. “They didn’t even give me the bad news.”
“I was embarrassed because I felt I hadn’t done my job,” he added.
Though the film earned eight Oscar nominations, Cooper was overlooked when it came to the award for Best Achievement in Directing. The Academy director’s branch is notorious for snubbing actors who step into the director’s chair, with Cooper now joining the ranks of Barbra Streisand, Ben Affleck, and Angelina Jolie, as actor-directors who failed to receive their proper due.
Lady Gaga has been nominated for two Oscars for her role in the film, landing a Best Lead Actress nomination and Best Original Song nomination.
Speaking on her career-defining news, Gaga told the LA Times: "I just started crying." However, as exciting as the nominations may be, they don't exactly come as a surprise. Gaga was nominated for two Golden Globe awards, one of which she won, two BAFTAs, four Grammys, two SAG awards and tied with Glenn Close for a Critics' Choice Award, all for her performance in A Star Is Born.
Gaga also responded to Cooper's snub, admitting "you never know what’s going to happen” during awards season. “At the end of the day, he knows that he’s the best director in my eyes, and in all of our eyes as his cast,” she continued. “I know that he’s so happy that we’ve all been nominated and that the film was recognized and we all feel really, really beyond elated for the recognition.”
Cooper said at the time, “Everyone who worked on this film truly risked putting themselves out there—in the hope that in doing so people will connect and feel something deep and personal—the way films have made me feel since I was a kid. When I got this opportunity I knew I had to risk it all because I may never get another chance—so to be here today in a place where people who have seen the film are talking about how it makes them feel, something deep—that simple human thing—that we need each other—and the Academy to recognise that this morning—I just am so grateful."
Although Cooper might be upset over the lack of nomination, he and Gaga are confirmed to perform 'Shallow' live at the ceremony.
