# Bradley Cooper accused of “Jewface” **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [August 17, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729 "2023-08-17T16:15:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/21 "2023-08-17T17:35:57Z")
I’m Jewish and this won’t get my nose out of joint. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/22 "2023-08-17T17:40:49Z")
Remember the episode of _Friends_ where Joey need to play Jewdick? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/23 "2023-08-17T17:45:54Z")
I remember the other way around. Circumcised Joey needed a fake foreskin. Back to the OP I don’t see the problem. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/24 "2023-08-17T18:46:09Z")
I think the issue is that Bradley Cooper _already_ has a naturally large nose. Larger than Bernstein’s. So, even at its most benign, it’s a strange decision for someone to look at that and say: more! ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/25 "2023-08-17T19:42:50Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I know in my early adult years I was often mistaken for Jewish. And I’ve been taken for Italian. Including in Italy (though not once I opened my mouth.) – if either the nose itself or the overall portrayal is caricaturish, I think there’s a problem. If not, then I don’t see a problem. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/26 "2023-08-17T20:11:30Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Is there a historical record of people dressing up as Jews to make fun of them? Check out the prosthetic nose Alec Guinness wore when he played Fagin in David Lean’s [Oliver Twist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pigmgUCxg_0&t=160s) (1948). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/27 "2023-08-17T20:19:04Z")
It’s a stupid choice. Even if Cooper was Jewish it would be a stupid choice. How many people hear “Leonard Bernstein” and immediately picture the guy, especially with an accurately proportioned schnoz? He’s famous,\* but he’s not a visual icon. The nose isn’t going to add verisimilitude to the performance **except for viewers with a deepset implicit understanding that Jewish people should have big noses.** \*although I would wager there are a great many people who love his music and couldn’t correctly identify the composer if asked ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/28 "2023-08-17T20:19:16Z")
Puts me in mind of the times that Eli Wallach played Mexicans (_The Magnificent Seven_, _The Good, The Bad and The Ugly_ – probably others) in part (IMHO) because in those days somebody as swarthy as a member of a Polish-Jewish family was Mexican-looking enough for Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/29 "2023-08-17T20:19:18Z")
Absolutely agree! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/30 "2023-08-17T20:27:12Z")
Lenny’s family is cool with Bradley Cooper wearing a fake nose to play the role, and so, dadgummit, am I. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > They sure have. > [https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQt-Cqlk18GY8phZssMglpY52oqYyNNkk5TkrabL9C9edtbfAwV1uvj8qkoCqGyCaS9RXM&usqp=CAU](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQt-Cqlk18GY8phZssMglpY52oqYyNNkk5TkrabL9C9edtbfAwV1uvj8qkoCqGyCaS9RXM&usqp=CAU) Nice. Ian McKellen wore a prosthetic nose as Gandalf in the _LOTR_ movies, but it was very subtle and I remember no complaints at the time. It probably helped that Gandalf wasn’t, as far as we know, a Red Sea pedestrian. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/31 "2023-08-17T20:33:21Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > How many people hear “Leonard Bernstein” and immediately picture the guy I think it’s more than you seem to think. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/32 "2023-08-17T20:47:37Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I think it’s more than you seem to think. I suppose it’s conjecture either way, but I’d be surprised to be proven wrong. A famous name doesn’t mean a famous face. Give me a gallery of ten famous American composers (especially when they were young) and I’m sure I’d fail a multiple choice quiz,\* even though I’d probably perform better than average at identifying their music. \*I know I would. I just looked up images of a young Sondheim, Copeland, and Gershwin. Couldn’t pick them out of a lineup. Maybe could do Gershwin once he really got his forehead on display. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/33 "2023-08-17T20:49:25Z")
Bradley Cooper’s own nose is bigger than Bernstein’s: [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7b/a3/cf/7ba3cf5ed0501089a005d781a69d9d5c.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7b/a3/cf/7ba3cf5ed0501089a005d781a69d9d5c.jpg) (L) Bernstein; (R) Cooper with fake nose: [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/08/16/multimedia/16MAESTRO-NOSES-SUB-fqhg/16MAESTRO-NOSES-SUB-fqhg-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/08/16/multimedia/16MAESTRO-NOSES-SUB-fqhg/16MAESTRO-NOSES-SUB-fqhg-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/34 "2023-08-17T20:53:57Z")
But Bernstein wasn’t just a composer. He was probably most famous as a conductor, possibly the most famous conductor in the world in his heyday. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/35 "2023-08-17T20:55:18Z")
> [@](#): > > The most benign of the charges—that Cooper and the movie simply got the nose wrong—rests largely on a widely circulated side-by-side comparison that juxtaposes an early publicity still with a photo in which a very young Bernstein’s nose was minimized by angle and lighting; other pairings make the prosthetic look far more accurate and sensible. From here: > **[The Bradley Cooper “Jewface” Backlash Is Worse Than Just Misguided](https://slate.com/culture/2023/08/leonard-bernstein-bradley-cooper-maestro-movie-nose-jewface.html)** > > There’s nothing wrong with the actor’s decision to wear a prosthetic to play Leonard Bernstein, nor is that really what’s at stake. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/36 "2023-08-17T20:59:29Z")
Here’s a different photo. Bernstein’s nose looks smaller than Cooper’s real nose. [![](https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1500w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2022-05/leonard-bernstein-young-mc-2x1-220530-copy-367513.jpg) ](https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1500w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2022-05/leonard-bernstein-young-mc-2x1-220530-copy-367513.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/37 "2023-08-17T21:02:48Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > But the list is actually huge of Italian-American actors playing Jewish characters and Jewish actors playing Italians & Italian-Americans. I know in my early adult years I was often mistaken for Jewish. That’s because many so-called “Jewish” features are actually Mediterranean features. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/38 "2023-08-17T21:03:07Z")
Still hard to compare because of the different angles. And Bernstein’s nose looked bigger as he got older. I’m inclined to defer to Bernstein’s family as to whether Cooper got the nose right. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/39 "2023-08-17T21:05:05Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I think it’s more than you seem to think. Picture him? I don’t even know who he is. (Or didn’t until this thread.) Pretty sure he’s mentioned in an REM song though. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729/40 "2023-08-17T21:07:25Z")
Now I feel old. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradley-cooper-accused-of-jewface/988729.md?page=3)