Entertainment Awards Shows and Events Premieres Must-See Throwback Photos of a Fresh-Faced Bradley Cooper in His Most Iconic Roles Revisit the A-list actor's most notable on-screen characters as he turns 47 years old today By Diane J. Cho Diane J. Cho Diane J. Cho is the former features editor of PEOPLE, covering news, features, human interest and more. She left PEOPLE in 2022 People Editorial Guidelines Updated on January 5, 2022 08:40AM EST Close 01 of 10 HBO One of Bradley Cooper's earliest roles was on Sex and the City back in 1999. His character Jake, a drunk guy Carrie Bradshaw makes out with in a car, finds Carrie's Single & Fabulous? magazine cover story at a nearby bodega, launching her into a real moment of introspection. 02 of 10 Scott Garfield /ABC via Getty Check out the frosted tips on a young Bradley, as Will Tippin on the TV series Alias, which ran from 2001 to 2006. 03 of 10 Eureka Pictures Who could forget the star in the 2001 classic, Wet Hot American Summer? In his film debut, Bradley played Ben, who was later played by Adam Scott in the 2017 Netflix series reboot. 04 of 10 Further into his career, Cooper played another Ben — but this time for 2009's He's Just Not That Into You opposite onscreen love interest Scarlett Johansson. 05 of 10 Annapurna Productions LLC Here's the A-list cast of 2013's American Hustle, in which Cooper played the curly-haired, ambitious Richie DiMaso alongside Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence. 06 of 10 The star morphed into Chris Kyle in 2014's American Sniper, portraying the real-life United States Navy SEAL sniper. 07 of 10 As Eddie Morra in 2011's Limitless, Cooper climbs to the upper echelons of society after taking a drug that enhances his way of thinking. But his success starts to crumble once the drug's side effects start to pull him into a downward spiral. 08 of 10 Mirage Enterprises/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock The actor took on 2012's Silver Linings Playbook, opposite Jennifer Lawrence, as Pat Solitano, a former teacher who moves back home after a stint in a mental health institution to rebuild his life and patch things up with his ex-wife. While he tries to find his way, Solitano meets Lawrence's character Tiffany, who appears to be on a path to self-discovery as well. 09 of 10 From left: Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms in The Hangover (2009). Shutterstock Cooper's character Phil in 2009's The Hangover (barely) survives an insane bachelor party with his two buddies Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis). The trio gets themselves into several ridiculous (but hilarious) situations while they search for their friend the groom, who goes missing before his wedding. 10 of 10 Richard Cartwright/New Line/Avery Pix/Kobal/Shutterstock Here, the star is seen as the villainous Sack Lodge in 2005's Wedding Crashers. Lodge becomes suspicious of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn's characters (the actual wedding crashers) and spends most of the film trying to get rid of them.