Bradley Cooper Used Personal Experience To Craft His Wedding Crashers Villain
While director David Dobkin once worried "Wedding Crashers" wouldn't get made due to studio fears that the movie was too mean-spirited, it instead surpassed everyone's expectations. Grossing more than $280 million worldwide, "Wedding Crashers" is not the typical rom-com.
The crude and bawdy comedy worked in large part because of the chemistry between Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson and a memorable supporting cast. Jane Seymour's turn as seductive matriarch Kathleen Cleary was a far cry from her five years as a pioneer-era doctor in "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," but the biggest breakout star from "Wedding Crashers" was Bradley Cooper.
"Everybody brought their A-game, but Bradley's was on steroids," Seymour told USA Today. "There was no question in any of our minds that Bradley was going to become a major star from this."
As Sack Lodge, Cooper crafted his villain based on the guys he went to high school with.
"They're so despicable, yet people gravitate towards them," he told NPR. "So I studied them in high school, so then when I played this guy ... having observed these guys in high school, and wanting to be them in many ways, it was very easy to inhabit that role — and very therapeutic."
Cooper has refused to play anymore roles like Sack
Years before Bradley Cooper was nominated for dramatic turns in films like "Silver Linings Playbook" and "A Star Is Born," Cooper was often seen in a variation of the same character. Often playing charismatic, self-absorbed friends or boyfriends, like Demo in "Failure to Launch" or Ben from "He's Just Not That Into You." While Cooper's portrayal of Sack Lodge, the self-involved jerk of a boyfriend in "Wedding Crashers," finally got him on the radar in Hollywood, he had to fight to get offered different characters.
"All that was coming my way back then were roles which were rehashes of the guy I played in 'Wedding Crashers,'" Cooper said to GQ. "I could have played that same part for the next 10 years. I never did it again."
While there's been a lot of whispers about a "Wedding Crashers 2" ever since the first one became a hit, nothing has really gotten off the ground. Several of the original cast members, such as Vince Vaughn and Jane Seymour, have stated their interest in making a sequel, but Cooper has always kept quiet on whether or not he'd revisit playing Sack Lodge.