Golden Globe nominee Bradley Cooper stunned the audience at the Venice Film Festival with his directorial debut, a remake of A Star Is Born. Besides guiding Lady Gaga on a rock ‘n roll stage, Bradley plays the part of a down and out rock star consumed by pills and alcohol, who finds redemption in his love for music.

“Music was always in our house,’ Cooper told us on the rooftop of Ca’ Giustinian in Venice. “That is why I played Mario Lanza on the red carpet last night. He was an Italian/American from Philadelphia who played the great Caruso. He died at 38 in Rome and his story is very much the tragedy of A Star Is Born. My mother is Italian, her parents from Napoli and Abruzzi and in the family, we all had a love for opera and music. I remember Radiohead playing Saturday Night Live with the Kid A album.  I remember watching it on television thinking that my life just changed and I never heard anybody sound like that.  Thom Yorke is my hero.”

Who are you listening to today? we asked.

“I would say right now I have fallen in love with Gustav Mahler.  There’s an adagio in his 5^th Symphony and I am kind of blown away by him right now. It’s due to my parents, who also loved him.”