Once upon a time in…Hollywood, there were two pals: Brad Pitt and Bradley Cooper.Not that they need an introduction, but fans may be less aware of the friendship the actors developed offscreen despite never starring in a movie together.
Sure, there have been glimpses. Over the years, the two have presented each other with honors. And their respect for each other took center stage—literally—when Cooper introduced his buddy at the 2020 National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala and Pitt thanked the Silver Linings Playbook star for the role he played in his sobriety journey.
"I got sober because of this guy," Pitt, who was being recognized for his role in Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood, told the crowd. "And every day's been happier ever since. I love you and I thank you."
While Pitt had publicly talked about his sobriety, it was the first time he discussed the large role Cooper played in him getting help, with the Moneyball actor spending a year and a half in Alcoholics Anonymous in 2017 following his high-profile split from Angelina Jolie.
"I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges," he told The New York Times in 2019, going on to praise his AA group, which was comprised solely of men. "You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard. It was this safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself."
Although, Pitt recently shared he’s no longer on this path."I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon," he explained to Esquire in an interview published Aug. 10. "In a more restrained manner. I got overconfident a couple times, went, Yep, nope, not good for me. Not in big quantities."So, yes, he’ll have a glass of wine. "I can have a few," the 62-year-old added. "But I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it."
Equally as private as Pitt, Cooper has opened up about his own sobriety journey."I don't drink or do drugs at all anymore," the 51-year-old told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012. "Being sober helps a great deal."
Giving them up when he was 29, Cooper recalled how there was one particularly eye-opening moment that made him want to change.
"I was at a party and deliberately bashed my head on the concrete floor...like, 'Hey, look how tough I am!' And I came up, and blood dripped down," he detailed. "And then I did it again. I spent the night at St. Vincent's Hospital with a sock of ice, waiting for them to stitch me up."
For Cooper, alcohol was what he turned to when he “felt like an outsider” in Hollywood during his younger years."I was so concerned what you thought of me, how I was coming across, how I would survive the day. I always felt like an outsider. I just lived in my head," the A Star Is Born director explained. "I realized I wasn't going to live up to my potential, and that scared the hell out of me. I thought, 'Wow, I'm actually gonna ruin my life; I'm really gonna ruin it.'"
While friends tried to help him, Cooper resisted—ignoring their concerns.
"Part of me believed it, and part of me didn't,” he added. “But the proof was in the pudding: I'd always gotten up at the crack of dawn, and that was out the window. I remember looking at my life, my apartment, my dogs, and I thought, 'What's happening?'"Ironically, Cooper was already sober for years before landing his big break in The Hangover trilogy, a role that would begin his ascent to the A-list and his struggles with tabloid coverage and endless speculation over his love life, something his friend Pitt (now dating Ines de Ramon) also knows something about.
After high-profile romances with Renée Zellweger, Zoe Saldaña and Suki Waterhouse, Cooper began dating supermodel Irina Shayk in 2015, with the private couple welcoming their first child together, Lea de Seine Shayk Cooper, in 2017.But after four years together, Cooper and Shayk broke up in June 2019. He and partner Gigi Hadid recently sparked marriage speculation after about three years of dating when they stepped out wearing what looked like wedding bands.
Pitt, meanwhile, shares six children with Jolie: Maddox, 25, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 20, and twins Knox and Vivienne (18)—though some of the kids have dropped their dad's surname.
But Cooper and Pitt have bond over more than just their personal lives. "They have a lot in common and a lot to talk about," a source told E! News in 2020. "They are both very into music and art. They go to shows together and to see music live when they can."
They’re also both into sports—as seen when they attended the 2021 U.S. Open together. But when it comes to football, don’t expect them to root for the same team.Joking Cooper is used to losing the Oscar because "he’s a Philadelphia Eagles fan," Pitt teased at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in 2024, "Go Chiefs!"
To see more stars you didn’t know were friends, read on.
The actors became pals after they both secured a 2026 Oscars nomination. Since then, Teyana has affectionately referred to Jacob as her "awards-season bestie" and joked that they often find themselves going "mullet for mullet," bonding over their similar hairstyle.
“We're young, we're blessed, we're being celebrated—this is the time to be happy and to have fun with it," the Best Supporting Actress nominee told Time in an interview published Feb. 2026, "especially in a space that some people take so serious, and some people are cold, some people are robotic."
They have been friends for years and have worked together. The two starred together in A Wrinkle in Time, while Mindy also had a recurring role on The Morning Show. In addition, the latter is co-writing Legally Blonde 3.
The Food Network star and Mean Girls alum first became friends during a trip to Dubai years ago and have since grown closer. In fact, Ayesha and Stephen Curry were even named the godparents of Lindsay and husband Bader Shammas' son Laui.
The two actors, who costarred in the 2014 film Men, Women & Children, reunited for an outdoor game of basketball in New York City in July 2023.
The actor has worked with the Wu-Tang Clan rapper on several movies, including The Man with the Iron Fists, American Gangster and The Next Three Days. But their bond goes much deeper than that. "As friends, we talk," Crowe tells Fuse. "It is no effort for me to give a friend advice. Film has many gods and you have to understand, as a director, you will be required to please and appease them all."
Before running into each other again at Wimbledon, the unlikely duo first crossed paths at the Downton Abbey set. "She actually came on-set with her brother, James, a few years ago," Dockery told E! News."They are good fans of the show."
When the "footballer" moved to L.A. and became a "soccer player," he befriended the rapper. Becks appeared on Snoop's reality show, the two played soccer and Snoop plays his new music for David first.
The two former child actors have worked on two films, Twilight and The Runaways, but Dakota says their friendship isn't based on work, "When we're together, we're not talking about movie stuff."
The two hung out together in the aughts and maintained their friendship over the years.
The two have two very different approaches to fashion (has Anna ever been bedazzled?), but they bonded in the front row of an Oscar de la Renta show and Anna scored a name-drop in one of Nicki's raps.
Now this is one strange duet! Fiddy met Bette working for the charity New York Restoration Project, where she gushed, "He's one of the newest members of our tribe. He's really made my life worth living."
Taylor is a self-proclaimed good girl. Lena isn't afraid to stir the pot. But they have a lot of mutual respect for each other and the Girls creator described T.Swift's show as the "most life-affirming thing I've experienced."
The former King of Queens actress has been supertight with Jenny From the Block for a while now, bonding over fashion and tweeting cutesy things at each other with the hashtag "#luckybesties."
The Goop goddess herself is actually friends with both Jay and his wife Beyoncé, though you might be more surprised to learn that Gwyn is an intense rap enthusiast and her kids even call Mr. Carter "Uncle Jay."
You might not expect the hunky thespian to be close with the dude from Superbad, but look at it this way: Brad is a total prankster (says Jonah) and Jonah is now a serious Oscar nominee (for their film Moneyball).
The controversial rapper joined forces with Sir Elton at the 2001 Grammys and later Em turned to his new friend for support getting sober: "I told him, 'Look, I'm going through a problem and I need your advice.'"
(A version of this story was originally published Jan 17, 2020 at 4:00 PM PST).