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Sexy 'American Sniper'? Bradley Cooper dismisses 'too handsome' talk

When Chris Kyle, the man whose life the movie "American Sniper" is based on, first found out that Bradley Cooper would play him on the big screen, he had just one reservation about the star People magazine once dubbed its Sexiest Man Alive — that Cooper might just be too handsome for the job."I’m going to have to tie him to my truck, drag him down the street and knock some of the pretty off of
Image: Bradley Cooper
Today

When Chris Kyle, the man whose life the movie "American Sniper" is based on, first found out that Bradley Cooper would play him on the big screen, he had just one reservation about the star People magazine once dubbed its Sexiest Man Alive — that Cooper might just be too handsome for the job.

"I’m going to have to tie him to my truck, drag him down the street and knock some of the pretty off of him," the Navy SEAL joked at the time.

But in a Tuesday morning visit to TODAY, Cooper assured Matt Lauer that handsomeness has never really been a problem for him.

"The first job I've ever got was on 'Alias,' and I was not the … good-looking guy," he insisted. "I was the sidekick, best friend. And in 'Wedding Crashers,' I was the jerk. So, no, I never sort of suffered that 'oh, he's too handsome' [problem] ever."

Cooper gained 40 pounds of mostly muscle to transform into Kyle for the film, and there's no denying that he nailed it.

Image: Chris Kyle (left), and Bradley Cooper in character as Kyle in \"American Sniper.\"
Chris Kyle (left), and Bradley Cooper in character as Kyle in \"American Sniper.\"Today

Unfortunately, Kyle never got to see the full transformation for himself, as he died from a gunshot wound in 2013. But Kyle's close friend, Clint Bruce, watched the film, and he had high praise for Cooper's portrayal of the man who worked overwatch for marines in Iraq during the war.

"There were three or four times during the movie where I literally just forgot I was watching an actor," Bruce told NBC's Lester Holt. "I thought I was watching Chris."

Image: Bradley Cooper
Today

See for yourself when "American Sniper" opens in theaters nationwide Jan. 16.

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