Cooper discussed how his sobriety helped him in his movie 'A Star is Born' alongside Lady Gaga
Bradley Cooper is being transparent about the parameters to parenthood - divulging what he hopes he can keep from his young daughter, Lea.
"You learn from your - the predecessor's mistakes - and I'll make tons that hopefully Lea will learn from," Cooper shared during an episode of National Geographic’s "Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge." Along with adventurer Grylls, Cooper explored the Wyoming Basin and hung on the side of a cliff.
"And then, making it and being rigorous with myself to grow. To help unburden her with any of my bulls---," he added of parenting. Cooper shares Lea, 6, with his ex Irina Shayk.
When Grylls suggested this was the best thing Cooper could do for his daughter, "The Hangover" actor added it was also something he actively does for himself.
BRADLEY COOPER, IRINA SHAYK HAVE A GOOD CO-PARENTING RELATIONSHIP FOLLOWING BREAKUP
Bradley Cooper gave rare insight into his life as a father to daughter Lea and what he hopes to accomplish as a parent. (Theo Wargo/WireImage)
"I can say this for me. It's for me too. I mean, it just makes life much better," he says.
WATCH: BRADLEY COOPER DISCUSSES UNBURDENING DAUGHTER LEA
Cooper also got candid about his sobriety - and how it has allowed him to play characters that have struggled with substance abuse.
Bradley Cooper, left, and Irina Shayk split in 2019. They share daughter Lea, 6. (MARK RALSTON/AFP)
"'The Hangover,' that was pretty career-changing. I was 36 when that happened, so you know I was already in the game for 10 years, just banging around. So I didn't get lost in fame," he said of the hugely successful movie.
TWITTER FANS ROOT FOR LADY GAGA TO GET TOGETHER WITH BRADLEY COOPER AFTER HIS BREAKUP
"I was lucky, I got sober at 29 years old. I've been sober for 19 years. I'm very lucky," adding that his sobriety helped him play addict Jackson Maine in "A Star is Born," alongside Lady Gaga.
Bradley Cooper, right, and Lady Gaga starred in the Oscar-nominated film "A Star is Born" in 2018. (ANTHONY HARVEY/AFP)
"It made it easier to be able to really enter in there, and thank goddess I was at a place in my life where I was at ease with all of that. So I could really let myself go," he noted.
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Although several points of conversation with Cooper were serious, the show also showed a moment where Cooper fully embraced being in the wild - eating a bear tongue from a scavenged carcass.
WATCH: BRADLEY COOPER EAT A BEAR TONGUE
"Fatty! It's pretty good, dude. I like it," he told Grylls.
Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer. Story tips can be sent to
