Who in Hollywood doesn’t want to work with Steven Soderbergh? He’s helped actresses Andie MacDowell and Jennifer Lopez give career-best performances and directed two Oscar-winning portrayals in 2000, both of which came from different films. He’s a living legend, and most up-and-coming actors would do anything to work with him.
Variety relays Bradley Cooper, who broke out in 2009’s The Hangover and proved himself to be a moderate box-office draw with Limitless earlier this year, has been offered the leading role in Soderbergh’s spy thriller The Man from U.N.C.L.E., based on the 1960s spy series of the same name.
If Cooper signs on, he’ll lead the film as Napoleon Solo, an American worker for the fictional international spy agency U.N.C.L.E who carries out missions alongside a Russian named Illya Kuryakin. Taking on the role would mean hopping on board for filming right after finishing up the epic Paradise Lost in March, and he’s also set to star in the David O. Russell feature The Silver Linings Playbook.
George Clooney left the role, and both Johnny Depp and Matt Damon later declined to take it. That left Cooper as a major contender for the part, especially considering that his agency, CAA, heavily pushed him for it.
Do you buy into Cooper's star power as a spy?