Bradley Cooper Transforms Into Leonard Bernstein in 'Maestro' Trailer After Prosthetics Backlash

The stage is set for Bradley Cooper to take on the role of iconic composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein in Netflix's upcoming biopic Maestro. Cooper initially sparked backlash when images from the film showed the Oscar-nominated actor wearing a prosthetic nose. A new trailer for the movie shows Cooper—nose and all—in action.

The film, directed and co-written by Cooper, covers several decades of Bernstein's life, moving from black-and-white to color as the years go on. At the center of the movie is Bernstein's marriage to actress Felicia Montealegre, played by Carey Mulligan.

And while they had plenty of highs, they also had their fair share of lows; for example, the film will explore the composer's alleged relationship with music scholar Tom Cothran in 1976 that threatened to split up Bernstein and Montealegre's marriage. Cothran in the film is played by Gideon Glick from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Bernstein was known throughout his life to have affairs with both men and women, and the trailer shows that the movie won't beat around the bush, showing him in bed with Montealegre as well as holding hands with Cothran. Clarinetist David Oppenheim, played by Matt Bomer, also seemingly has a romantic moment with the West Side Story composer.

Cooper initially sparked controversy when fans got a first look at him as Bernstein because of his prosthetic nose. Some viewed this creative decision as a play into antisemitic stereotypes, especially since Cooper's real nose isn't too far off from Bernstein's. The composer's children, however, didn't see it that way and approved of Cooper's storytelling.

"Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father,” Jamie, Alexander, and Nina Bernstein said in a statement. "We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music, and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration. It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts."

"It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we're perfectly fine with that. We're also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well," they continued. "Any strident complaints around this issue strike us above all as disingenuous attempts to bring a successful person down a notch—a practice we observed all too often perpetrated on our own father."

Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg produced the film, which has unsurprisingly already been acclaimed at film festivals around the world ahead of its wide release. The movie is set to premiere in select theaters across the country on Nov. 22 and hits Netflix on Dec. 20.