When Bradley Cooper embarked upon his latest film project, he probably didn't expect his nose to become a talking point.
However, the actor's nose - or more accurately, his prosthetic nose - in new film 'Maestro' has caused quite a stir since the teaser trailer was unveiled earlier this week.
Cooper will star as famed composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein - who died in 1990 and was best known for the musical 'West Side Story' - in the film, which he also directed for Netflix.
However, some have criticised his larger nose as being 'Jewface' and perpetuating the stereotype that Jewish people have large noses. Bernstein was Jewish but Cooper is not.
However, now Bernstein's three children have issued a statement in support of Cooper.
"Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father," it read. "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 continued: "It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations of 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.
"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.
"At all times during the making of this film, we could feel the profound respected and yes, the love that Bradley brought to his portrait of Leonard Bernstein and his wife, our mother Felicia. We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Bradley, and we can’t wait for the world to see his creation."
Cooper himself has not commented.
The film, which also stars Carey Mulligan and was produced by Martin Scorsese, is set for release on Netflix on December 20th following a limited cinema run in November.
