Bradley Cooper describes the "insane" moment he was held up at knifepoint

"It was pretty insane. I realized I had gotten way, way too comfortable in the city."

While appearing on Dax Shepard's 'Armchair Expert' podcast this week, Bradley Cooper spoke about a petrifying moment he was held at knifepoint while on the New York City subway some years ago.

Lucky enough to escape unscathed, the incident happened while he was on his way to pick up his daughter from school lessons pre-pandemic while he was wearing noise-cancelling headphones.

Here's what he had to say about the ordeal: "I used to walk around New York City all the time with these [headphones] on - I was on the subway and I got held up at knifepoint. It was pretty insane. I realised I had gotten way, way too comfortable in the city. My guard was down."

"I was all the way at the end of the subway. I felt somebody coming up. I thought, 'Oh, they want to take a photo or something'. As I turned, I'm up against the post like it's 'The French Connection' or some sh*t, and I turned. I looked down and I see a knife."

During this moment, Bradley Cooper said that while he was held at knifepoint he managed to notice that it was a "nice knife" about three inches long. He continued: "I have my headphones on the whole time. I can't hear anything. I'm just listening to music. So it's scored, the whole thing was scored. I look up, I see the person's eyes, and I'm taken by how young they are.

"I jumped over the turnstile, hid around the white, tiled foyer entrance to the subway, took my phone out. I took a photo of him and then I chased him up the stairs."

Following the incident, which could have turned out very differently for the actor, he was able to flag a police SUV outside of the subway station and tell the police officers. They then urged him to check if he had been stabbed, as "what happens is people get stabbed and they're in shock" and don't realise they are bleeding out.

Bradley Cooper will next be appearing on our screens in 'Licorice Pizza' from director Paul Thomas Anderson. Currently released in cinemas in the US, the film will arrive in theatres in Ireland in early 2022.