Bradley Cooper Recalls Being 'Held Up at Knifepoint' in N.Y.C. - "My Guard Was Down"

The actor had the most epic adventure when collecting his daughter from school. Like a scene straight from a movie, Cooper had to fend off a knife-wielding maniac!

Hollywood actor, Bradley Cooper has opened up on his experience of being held at knifepoint while on the way to pick up his daughter from school. Speaking on the Armchair Expert podcast this past Monday, the Nightmare Alley actor, 46, revealed that a stranger pulled a knife on him while on the New York City subway.

Trying to stay “incognito” whilst out in public, Cooper recalled wearing noise-cancelling headphones, sunglasses, and a hat. He had been on his way to collect pick up his daughter Lea De Seine, who was 2½ years old at the time.

“I used to walk around New York City all the time with [headphones] on — and this was pre-pandemic — and I was on the subway, 11:45, to pick Lea up downtown at Russian school, and I got held up at knifepoint,” Cooper began.

Co-host Dax Shepard, who made the 2012 movie Hit and Run with Cooper, asked, “How are we best friends and I'm just learning” about this story? They laughed together as Cooper said, “Yeah, it was pretty insane. I realized I had gotten way, way too comfortable in the city. My guard was down,” Cooper continued.

When coming to the end of the subway, Cooper saw someone approaching him that he believed to be a fan looking for a selfie. However, as the actor explains, “I look down and I see a knife.” Estimating the knife to be maybe a two-and-a-half-inches long, Cooper jokes, “I remember thinking 'That's a nice knife.'

“Now, I had my headphones on the whole time so I can't hear anything. I'm just listening to music. It's scored, the whole thing is scored,” Cooper said. “I see the person's eyes. I'm taken by how young they are. And then, I'm sure you were taught this, you don't ever run from knife, you just try to, like, stay there.”

Knocking the attacker’s arm upwards to run and escape, the actor exited ‘stage-left’ and jumped over the turnstile. When the person also started running away, the actor took photos of him and approached police officers outside the subway station.

Cooper said, “Then I got back in the subway and picked up my daughter. It was crazy.”

Nightmare Alley is out December 17^th.