NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper opened up about an "insane" holdup he was the target of while on a New York City subway in 2019.
The 46-year-old said he was on his way to pick up his daughter Lea, 4, in Lower Manhattan from Russian school when he was suddenly confronted with a man and a "nice knife" with "some history."
"My guard was down … I was all the way at the end of the subway. Innately, I would just go all the way down to the end. I felt somebody coming up. I thought, ‘Oh they want to take a photo or something.’ As I turned, I’m up against the post like it’s 'The French Connection' or some s–t, and I turned. I looked down and I see a knife," Cooper said on Monday's episode of Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast.
The "A Star Is Born" actor and director recounted the moment he looked up and saw the "person's eyes," shocked "by how young they are," he said.
Though Cooper said he was taught never to run from a person if they have a weapon, he said he decided he had to flee the station. He also said he photographed the would-be culprit.
"I just started booking, just started running. I jumped over the turnstile, hid around the white, tiled entrance to the subway [and] took my phone out," he said. "He jumped over, running away. I took a photo of him. Then I chased him up the stairs. He started running up 7th Avenue. I took two more photographs of him," he added.
"The American Sniper" star said he then approached two NYPD officers in a nearby SUV to show them the photos.
However, he recounts being questioned whether he had been stabbed during the incident.
"The guy kept saying — it was so interesting — 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," he said. "I looked to see if he was right … And then I got back on the subway and picked up my daughter."
Page Six reports an NYPD spokesperson said Cooper does not have a complaint on file.