Bradley Cooper may have been snubbed from a Best Director nomination for A Star Is Born at the this year’s Oscars – a moment that left him “embarrassed” – but he just did win an Oscat.
Or more precisely, his dog Charlie won Cooper the gong for the canine’s now award-winning performance in A Star Is Born.
And as anyone who’s seen the movie can attest (which is everyone, RIGHT?), Charlie absolutely steals every scene he is in – which is clearly down to some A+ directing by Cooper.
Watch the trailer for A Star Is Born if you’re one of those people who haven’t seen the movie.
Charlie, who yes is Cooper’s dog in real life and was named after Cooper’s late father who died in 2011, plays the adorable labradoodle that Ally (Lady Gaga) and Jackson (Cooper) adopt after they get married.
The award from animal rights organisation PETA recognises “the movies and stars who promoted kindness to animals through positive actions”.
Cooper took out the “compassion in film” award, which honours him “for his enlightened decision to cast his own canine companion in A Star Is Born rather than using one supplied by a notorious animal exhibitor”.
It was a category that PETA only introduced this year – for Cooper and his pal Charlie. That’s how good he was.
“Bradley Cooper’s happy, adorable, and much-loved dog steals the spotlight – and viewers’ hearts – in this film because it’s clear that he loved being with his real-life ‘dad,'” PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange said, according to Refinery29.
Holly Wainwright, Rachel Corbett and Leigh Campbell debriefed on the movie after they watched it:
Speaking of his decision to cast his own dog in the film, Cooper told People at the film’s Los Angeles premiere: “There was no nepotism – I wanted this relationship with the dog.
“[Jackson and Ally] don’t have a child together but they have a dog together, and I wanted it to be part of their story. I love dogs.”
However, we hope this latest accolade doesn’t cause tension in Cooper’s relationship with Charlie.
Cooper previously joked that since starring in A Star Is Born, Charlie “has an agent”.
“I don’t talk to him much anymore. He doesn’t return my calls. He always walks away from me unless I have food,” he told People.