Scott Cooper

After toiling for several years as an unknown but employable actor, Scott Cooper took his career by the reins and directed "Crazy Heart" (2009), the poignant tale of a broken-down country music singer that earned critical acclaim and several key awards. Cooper was born in Virginia, but spent a fair part of his youth being raised in Somerset, KY, where he attended Somerset High School for one year before moving back to Virginia with his family. Growing up, he was reared on bluegrass music and Southern literature, which had a profound influence on his creative decisions later in life. Meanwhile, he ventured north to the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York, where he trained to be an actor. Cooper had a minor supporting part in "Gods and Generals" (2003), which starred his acting mentor Robert Duvall as General Robert E. Lee. Following a small part in the crime thriller "Takedown" (2004) and a larger supporting turn in the uplifting "Ladder 49" (2004), Cooper was finally noticeable as Henry 'Heck' Gilpin in the award-winning miniseries, "Broken Trail" (AMC, 2006), which gave the actor an opportunity to work again with Duvall. Unsatisfied with the roles he was being offered, Cooper set out to make inroads as a writer and director; his first effort was the script for the horror film "For Sale By Owner" (2009), in which he also starred. But instead of crafting his own performance piece, he next instead stayed strictly behind the camera as the writer and director of "Crazy Heart" (2009), which starred Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake, a burnt-out country music star reduced to playing gigs at bowling alleys while trying to hold on to what remains of his self-respect. With a trail of broken marriages and even more broken bottles, Blake finally starts to find redemption with the help of a journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who starts to uncover the real man behind the music. After writing the script, Cooper turned to Duvall, who immediately offered to be the executive producer. Determin