Bradley Cooper and his father, Charlie Cooper, shared a very close bond and losing his father might be the hardest thing he went through.
The 50-year-old actor shared that "My dad was somebody I idolised," and he lost him in 2011 at the age of 71 after he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
The Limitless actor revealed, "I used to dress up like him when I was a kid in kindergarten and get made fun of because I wanted to wear a little suit and tie," in the new PBS documentary, Caregiving, which he is also an executive producer of.
In the documentary, Cooper also shed light on the emotional experience of watching his stockbroker dad turn weaker and weaker until he needed hospice care.
"Like most people, I didn’t even think about caregiving until my dad was diagnosed," he admitted in the film.
Through the documentary, Cooper explained, he wanted to pay tribute to the work of often unnoticed heroes who do all they can to take care of their loved ones.
"To go from [dressing up like him] to giving him a bath is quite a traumatic thing ... he was at a point where he needed a lot of care," the actor recalled, adding, "I was lucky enough that I was able to be there for him, and I certainly also benefited from the help we got."
The documentary celebrates the work of these caregivers as Rosalynn Carter is heard saying, "There are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who currently are caregivers. Those who will be caregivers. And those who will need caregiving."