Let Bradley Cooper's Beard Teach You a Few Things About Personal Grooming
Maybe acting lends itself to good grooming habits, since actors must be chameleons for the camera. But a lot of that is Hollywood smoke and mirrors: It’s wigs, glued-on beards, excessive makeup, and hours in the hairstylist’s chair.
Not for Bradley Cooper, though. He fluctuates off screen between short and long hair, five-o’clock stubble and bushy beards, and even some changing hair colors. This makes Cooper a role model for the experimental men among us. He's a grooming idol, you could say.
We’ve long admired how often Cooper changes his overall aesthetic, and always look out for him on the red carpet, just to see what he’ll do next. Have a look at some of his variations over the course of his career, and let it encourage you to try something new.
Karwai Tang/Getty Images
Cooper was in the stands at Wimbledon with his long, center-parted hair and a cropped beard. We’re emulating his enthusiasm for what is our favorite of all his grooming combos.
Harry Durrant/Getty Images
During a film shoot—for next year’s A Star is Born, in which Cooper directs himself and Lady Gaga—Cooper’s nearly shoulder-length hair is lightly highlighted to showcase the texture in his hair. Learn why and when you should get highlights.
Jason LaVeris/Getty Images
Here, Cooper makes grizzly look grandiose by slicking back his long hair and letting his beard steal the spotlight. Our guess is that his stylist used some grooming clay in Cooper’s damp hair, blown dry and finished with hairspray.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images
Cooper’s hair isn’t as taut here—see how the sides run a little wilder?—and he’s let his beard reach peak bushiness. Total envy from us.
Most Popular
GQ RecommendsThe Best Menswear Deals of the WeekBy Reed Nelson
GQ RecommendsGap's All-You-Can-Buy Menswear Buffet Redeems Your Local MallBy Reed Nelson
StyleThe 68 Best Red-Carpet Looks of All Time (and What You Can Learn From Them)By Yang-Yi Goh
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Cooper cleaned up for this gala, showcasing party-ready stubble and a medium-length style, slicked back sans part.
Julien Hekimian/Getty Images
Here his shorter hair (but still a few months’ grown) is complemented by a 2-week beard. It’s a more even balance, but still abides by the ever-important beard-to-hair ratio.
Kevin Mazur/Getty ImagesMost Popular
GQ RecommendsThe Best Menswear Deals of the WeekBy Reed Nelson
GQ RecommendsGap's All-You-Can-Buy Menswear Buffet Redeems Your Local MallBy Reed Nelson
StyleThe 68 Best Red-Carpet Looks of All Time (and What You Can Learn From Them)By Yang-Yi Goh
Cooper is less styled than usual at this Arthur Miller Foundation benefit, thanks to a short, textured cut that only requires a dime-size of paste or putty.
Dave J Hogan/Getty Images
He’s got the same stubble and hair length here, but with a more polished, vertical finish—probably a touch of gel, blown dry, and hairspray.
Apparently Cooper is a big tennis buff. At the 2015 US Open, he sprouted stubble and let his medium length hair flow freely—probably a touch of cream in damp hair, blown dry, and hairspray.
GVK/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images
Cooper let his mustache do the talking in early 2012: See how it’s weighted slightly more than his chin whiskers? Kudos for the pompadoured travel hair, too.
Most PopularGQ RecommendsThe Best Menswear Deals of the WeekBy Reed Nelson
GQ RecommendsGap's All-You-Can-Buy Menswear Buffet Redeems Your Local MallBy Reed Nelson
StyleThe 68 Best Red-Carpet Looks of All Time (and What You Can Learn From Them)By Yang-Yi Goh
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Somehow, with a one-month beard and a textured, cropped style (styled with sea salt spray, perhaps), Cooper transforms into an entirely new person. Like any grooming idol (think Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp), this fluctuation of hair and whiskers makes him a chameleon on screen. (He also had put on a ton of muscle for his role in American Sniper, which itself transforms how the hair frames his face.)
Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection
Sure, this was for a film role, but we can’t omit Cooper’s American Hustle ringlets, themselves a benchmark in his grooming repertoire.
Ilya S. Savenok/Getty ImagesMost Popular
GQ RecommendsThe Best Menswear Deals of the WeekBy Reed Nelson
GQ RecommendsGap's All-You-Can-Buy Menswear Buffet Redeems Your Local MallBy Reed Nelson
StyleThe 68 Best Red-Carpet Looks of All Time (and What You Can Learn From Them)By Yang-Yi Goh
While promoting American Hustle, Cooper toured his crew cut and weeklong stubble.
David Livingston/Getty Images
Throwing it back to 2005 at our “Men of the Year* awards: Cooper wears a scissor-trimmed crew cut with a month-long beard. He’s still avoiding a beard-hair mishap, thanks to the slightly longer top.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
This 2006 look didn’t land, but it’s probably because of the dated spiky style. We commend Cooper for trying some blonde highlights and a fresher-than-usual face. (You don’t often see him with a freshly shaven face; he’s probably a fan of beard trimmers.)
Jim Spellman/Getty Images
For good measure, we gotta include blonde Bradley, from 2001 and his days on Alias. Even accounting for the 16-year difference, we hardly recognize him. This kind of transformation is the grooming idol’s true power.
Adam Hurly has been covering men's grooming since 2013 (and for GQ since 2016). He is also a travel writer. In Fall 2024, Adam is launching Blue Print by Adam Hurly, a men's grooming platform. Adam resides in Lisbon (previously Berlin, NYC, and San Francisco). He is a Sioux Falls, SD, native... Read moreWriterInstagramRelated Stories for GQBeards