Bradley Cooper Was Held at Knifepoint While Taking the Subway in NYC
Bradley Cooper detailed the moment that he was held up at knifepoint while trying to board a subway in New York City during a recent interview.
The A Star Is Born actor opened up about the terrifying experience on an episode of Dax Shepard's podcast, Armchair Expert. The encounter took place in the middle of an October day in 2019 while he was on his way to pick up his daughter Lea from school.
"I used to walk around New York City all the time with these [headphones] on," he told Shepard. "It was pretty insane, but I realized I had gotten way, way too comfortable in the city. My guard was down."
Cooper said he was near the back of the subway when he sensed someone approaching.
"I though, 'Oh they want to take a photo or something,'" he said. "I looked down, and I see a knife." He estimated that the knife was almost three inches long. Additionally, since his headphones were in he couldn't hear a thing the assailant was saying. "I'm just listening to music. It's scored — the whole thing is scored."
While Cooper said he'd been taught to stay still in the face of a knife attack, he instead made a run for it.
"I just started booking, just started running," he said. "I jumped over the turnstile, hid around the white, tiled entrance to the subway, took my phone out. He jumped over, running away. I took a photo of him."
The actor got a couple more photos of the attacker and was able to report the situation to the police, who were concerned that he may have been injured.
"He’s like, ‘Are you stabbed?’ I was like, ‘No, no.’ He was like, ‘Check to see if you’re stabbed.’ What happens is people get stabbed and they’re in shock."
Although some people would be terrified to get back on the subway considering the experience, Cooper did not seem overly perturbed. After he finished up with the police, he continued with his day: "I got back in the subway and picked up my daughter."
"It was crazy," he added. Well, that's one way to put it...