Bradley Cooper Makes The Case For Not Having Chairs On Set: “Your Energy Dips The Minute You Sit Down In A Chair”

Bradley Cooper is seemingly standing up against the idea of chairs on set.

According to BuzzFeed News, the Maestro star and director (funnily enough) sat down with fellow director Spike Lee as a part of Variety‘s “Directors on Directors” interview series, where he talked about learning “how to help the director by being on the field” as an actor.

“For me, it was such a natural transition, once I had the courage to write and direct a movie,” he explained. “But when I direct, I don’t watch playback. There’s no chairs. I’ve always hated chairs on sets; your energy dips the minute you sit down in a chair.”

He noted that he doesn’t “watch playback” and “there’s no video village,”, which for those unfamiliar with the term, is the place where directors and producers can watch the film back for review on set, per Evercast.

As the interview was likely condensed and edited for clarity, the 46-minute-long video footage of Cooper and Lee’s interview shows that the former mentioned, “An apple box is a very nice way to sit, and everybody’s together.”

Viewers have taken to X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) to share their thoughts on Cooper seemingly standing up against on-set chairs. Some have aired their grievances, deeming Cooper’s comments “so ableist,” urging him to “calm down,” and claiming “he’ll change his tune when his back turns 55 years old.”

Others made light of the comments, seemingly meming his “no chairs” on set rule.

While some defended Cooper’s comments by asking why people are “reading negativity into a benign statement” and citing the apple box quote omission. However, another refuted that’s “not a very nice way to sit.”

Another recalled director Christopher Nolan receiving similar backlash when Anne Hathaway revealed in a 2020 Variety “Actors on Actors” interview that he also “doesn’t allow chairs” on set. However, a spokesperson for Nolan eventually clarified to IndieWire in a statement that “the only things banned from [Nolan’s] sets are cell phones (not always successfully) and smoking (very successfully).”

“The chairs Anne was referring to are the directors chairs clustered around the video monitor, allocated on the basis of hierarchy not physical need,” the statement continued. “Chris chooses not to use his but has never banned chairs from the set. Cast and crew can sit wherever and whenever they need and frequently do.”

Nonetheless, Cooper’s interview with Lee demonstrated his tremendous dedication to executing his “vision” and to honoring the legacy of Leonard Bernstein, highlighting that his children were “were part of the process.”

Maestro is in theaters now, and is slated for a Dec. 22 Netflix release.