Scott Cooper (born April 20, 1970) is an American director,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, producer and actor. He is known for writing and directing ''

Crazy Heart ''Crazy Heart'' is a 2009 American drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper, in his feature directorial debut. Based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb, the film centers on a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter ( ...

'' (2009), ''

Out of the Furnace ''Out of the Furnace'' is a 2013 American crime drama film directed by Scott Cooper, from a screenplay written by Cooper and Brad Ingelsby. Produced by Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio, the film stars Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody H ...

'' (2013), '' Black Mass'' (2015), '' Hostiles'' (2017).

Early life and education

Cooper was born in

Abingdon, Virginia Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Washington County. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and f ...

. He is a 1988 graduate of Abingdon High School. Cooper trained as an actor at

Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He received both his undergraduate degree in 1992 and his Doctor of Humane Letters in 2014 from

Hampden–Sydney College gr, Ye Shall Know the Truth , established = , type = Private liberal arts men's college , religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church (USA) , endowment = $258 million (2021) , president = Larry Stimpert , city = Hampden Sydney, Virginia , co ...

Hampden Sydney, Virginia Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all-male college that is the tenth ...

Career

Cooper spent a decade working as an actor in film and television. He made the switch to directing with 2009's ''

'', starring

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

and

Maggie Gyllenhaal Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal (; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Achs, and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenh ...

. The film, released by

Fox Searchlight Pictures Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century Stu ...

, received widespread critical acclaim and a number of accolades, including the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

(Bridges) and Best Original Song. Among ''Crazy Heart'''s fans were director

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

and producer Michael Costigan, as well as executives at Leonardo DiCaprio's production company,

Appian Way The Appian Way ( Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name ...

. Cooper was offered the opportunity to develop ''The Low Dweller'', a

spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...

written by

Brad Ingelsby Brad Ingelsby (born January 4, 1980) is an American screenwriter and film producer. Ingelsby is the son of basketball player and coach Tom Ingelsby and Rose Ingelsby. His brother Martin Ingelsby is also a basketball coach. Ingelsby grew up in ...

that had DiCaprio and

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sask ...

attached, as actor and director respectively. Cooper rewrote the script, drawing on his experience of growing up in

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, C ...

and losing a sibling at a young age.

Relativity Media Relativity Media is an American media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company was commerciall ...

put the film, now titled ''

'', into production in 2012, with

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, includin ...

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

and

Casey Affleck Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt (born August 12, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award. He ...

leading the ensemble cast. Cooper directed the film, and shared writing credit with Ingelsby. DiCaprio and Scott remained as producers. In January 2014, Cooper became attached to rewrite and direct '' Black Mass'', a crime drama based the book of the same name by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill, described as the "true story of

Billy Bulger William Michael Bulger (born February 2, 1934) is an American former Democratic politician, lawyer, and educator from South Boston, Massachusetts. His eighteen-year tenure as President of the Massachusetts Senate is the longest in history. He th ...

, Whitey Bulger, FBI agent John Connolly and the FBI's witness protection program that was created by

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...

Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as '' Diner'' (1982); ''The Natural'' (1984); '' Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); ...

had previously been involved with the project.

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...

, who had been on and off the project for a number of years, came back on board to play the infamous Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger, alongside

Joel Edgerton Joel Edgerton (born 23 June 1974) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his appearance in the ''Star Wars'' films ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and ''Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) as a young Owen Lars, a role he reprised i ...

as Connolly and

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence Oli ...

as Billy Bulger. The film was released in 2015. In 2016, he sold his home in Brentwood for $3.6 million and it was widely covered in the media. Cooper wrote, directed and produced the 2017 western '' Hostiles'', based on a decades old manuscript by the late screenwriter

Donald E. Stewart Donald E. Stewart (24 January 193028 April 1999) was an American screenwriter, best known for his screenplay for ''Missing'', which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the Writers Guild of America Award, the London Film Critics' C ...

. The film reteamed Cooper with his ''Out of the Furnace'' star, Bale, alongside

Rosamund Pike Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike (born 1979) is a British actress. She began her acting career by appearing in stage productions such as ''Romeo and Juliet'' and ''Gas Light''. After her screen debut in the television film ''A Rather English Marriage'' ...

. It had its world premiere at the

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, t ...

, with US distribution rights picked up by Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures. Cooper's next film was the supernatural horror story ''

Antlers Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on males ...

'', starring

Keri Russell Keri Lynn Russell (born March 23, 1976) is an American actress. She portrayed the titular character on the drama series '' Felicity'' (1998–2002), which won her a Golden Globe Award, and Elizabeth Jennings on the FX spy thriller series ''The ...

and

Jesse Plemons Jesse Plemons (; born April 2, 1988) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and achieved a career breakthrough with his major role as Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011). He subsequ ...

and co-produced by

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and '' The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for ...

, which was released in 2021. In 2019, actor

announced that Cooper will direct his upcoming ''Valhalla'', which Joel Edgerton might star in, as well as the film adaptation of Jess Walter’s ''Over Tumbled Graves''. He has also started a scholarship program for students to access high-quality education in the US and Canada colleges.

Influences

Thomas Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist of the early 20th century. Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels as well as many short stories, dramatic works, and novellas. He is known for mixing highly origi ...

and

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...

are literary influences.Profile
latimesblogs.latimes.com; accessed October 5, 2016. Films that have influenced Cooper include:

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New ...

's ''Nashville'',

Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include ''Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay ...

's ''Badlands'',

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

's ''Fat City'' and

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the " New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on ...

's ''

The Last Picture Show ''The Last Picture Show'' is a 1971 American coming-of-age drama film directed and co-written by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1966 novel ''The Last Picture Show'' by Larry McMurtry. The film's ensemble cast include ...

''. His principal film-making mentor has been veteran actor, producer and director,

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...

. He and Duvall met on the set of ''Gods and Generals'' and struck up a friendship. Cooper was married on Duvall's Virginia estate. The two appeared together in ''

Broken Trail ''Broken Trail'' is a 2006 Western television miniseries directed by Walter Hill and starring Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church. Written by Alan Geoffrion, who also wrote the novel, the story is about an aging cowboy and his nephew who t ...

'' and ''

Get Low (film) ''Get Low'' is a 2009 drama film directed by Aaron Schneider, and written by Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell. It tells the story of a Tennessee hermit in the 1930s who throws his own funeral party while still alive. The film stars Robert ...

'', and Duvall produced and appeared in Cooper's film ''

''.

Personal life

Cooper is married and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jocelyne Cooper, and their two daughters, Ava Stella and one boy Aria.

Filmography

Acting roles

Film Television

Awards and nominations

*Nominated for Most Promising Director for ''Crazy Heart'' at CFCA Award 2009 *Nominated for Best Screenplay for ''Crazy Heart'' at 2010

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic gla ...

*Nominated for Best Screenplay for ''Crazy Heart'' at 2010

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility ...

References

External links

*
L.A. Times Blogs: "The Body and Soul Behind Crazy Heart"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Scott American male film actors Film producers from California American male screenwriters American male television actors Living people 1970 births People from Abingdon, Virginia Hampden–Sydney College alumni Male actors from Los Angeles Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Film directors from Virginia Film directors from California Male actors from Virginia 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Screenwriters from Virginia Screenwriters from California