Bradley Cooper Makes Surprise Visit To The Troops With A Special Screening of AMERICAN SNIPER

Credit: Brooke Army Medical Center, Robert Shields, photographer

Last week (Jan. 14), Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper paid a surprise visit to service members and patients at the Brooke Army Medical Center.

260 service members and staff were invited to preview Cooper’s new movie, AMERICAN SNIPER, based on the life of military sniper Chris Kyle. Kyle emerged from the war in Iraq as the most lethal sniper in the history of the U.S. military,

According to BAMC’s report:

As the movie was playing in the auditorium, Cooper was in the Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center Rehabilitation Gym visiting patients, staff and Warrior Transition Battalion Soldiers, signing several movie posters and T-shirts which he handed out.

As Cooper made his way through the hospital to the auditorium, he received a warm reception from everyone he encountered. As he entered the auditorium, the crowd erupted with cheers.

A few special guests joined Cooper for the event: Chris Kyle’s father, Wayne, and two veterans, Bryan Anderson and Jacob Schick, who were also in the movie.

San Antonio Military Medical Center. (Photo by Robert Shields)

Bradley Cooper (center) along with veterans Jacob Schick and Bryan Anderson answer audience questions after the preview of the film American Sniper as Chris Kyle’s dad Wayne (far right) looks on. (Photo by Robert Shields)

After the screening, Cooper addressed the audience:

Making this movie was a life-changing experience,” he said. “I was terrified when I started. I didn’t know if I could actually get to a place where I would believe that I was Chris [Kyle].”

Kyle served four tours in the Iraq War and was awarded several commendations for acts of heroism. He was tragically shot and killed in February 2013 while working with a veteran at a shooting range in Texas.

A Marine in the audience stood up and tearfully thanked Cooper for such a real portrayal. “I feel like you are one of my brothers,” he said. “I think you did really well and I just want to say ‘Thank you.’”

CLICK HERE to see photos of Cooper’s visit on the Brooke Army Medical Center’s Facebook page.

Bradley Cooper along with veterans Bryan Anderson and Jacob Schick answer audience questions after the preview of the film American Sniper. Several service members were invited to the special screening. (Photo by Robert Shields)

Bradley Cooper visits with Soldiers from the Warrior Transition Battalion in the Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center Rehabilitation Gym Jan. 14 at San Antonio Military Medical Center. (Photo by Robert Shields)

Bradley Cooper visited with a burn patient in the Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center Rehabilitation Gym. (Photo by Robert Shields)

BAMC employees from the Pathology department greet Bradley Cooper Jan. 14 at San Antonio Military Medical Center. (Photo by Robert Shields)

Bradley Cooper recently spoke at the Washington D.C. premiere on his decision to make the film. “In some ways, it’s a universal story about what most veterans have to go through – dealing with the seesaw of being in a war zone and then suddenly coming home to a ‘normal’ life. That was very moving to me. I liked the fact that it wasn’t as much of a war movie as it was a character study.”

Surpassing all targets, Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ multiple Oscar-nominated drama AMERICAN SNIPER smashed virtually every available record as it opened nationwide on the heels of its already record-breaking limited release. Easily topping the box office, the film took in an estimated $105.3 million for the four-day holiday weekend and has grossed $108.7 million to date and counting.

The film also broke records for a January weekend opening, including both three- and four-day weekends; the highest single day ever in January; the best four-day weekend for an R-rated film; and the biggest opening for any drama in cinema history.

The overwhelmingly positive response to AMERICAN SNIPER is not only measured at the box office. It also earned a rare A+ Cinemascore rating, becoming one of only 11 films in history to receive an A+ in every category.

The movie has earned six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Cooper), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Jason Hall).

Read Tom Stockman’s review HERE.

See photos from our screening with the Marines HERE.

AMERICAN SNIPER is playing in cinemas everywhere now.