Before we get into the subject matter of this story, I wanted to touch upon a weird internet thing. I keep seeing various news outlets running stories on Bradley Cooper’s morphing looks. The implication is that he’s had some work done over the years. I’m not so sure, but here’s a photo of BCoop (rocking his fug serial killer suit) in May 2013 at the Hangover 3 premiere. Good times. Dude does look different than he did last week, but he’s also gained and lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time.

With all of the Fake Baby madness in yesterday’s discussion of American Sniper, I forgot to talk about Coop’s surprise Oscar nomination. The man did it. Three times in a row. Will he take top prize? No way. Keaton, Cumby, or Redmayne are all strong contenders. That won’t stop the American Oscar Hustle from continuing. People magazine has a new feature on Bradley’s major body transformation … because Oscar loves a fluctuating scale:

Bradley Cooper doesn’t hold back when committing to a role.

The actor worked hard to get in shape to play real-life Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in the Clint Eastwood-directed American Sniper, which has now nabbed six Oscar nominations including Best Picture and a Best Actor nod for Cooper.

People caught up with writer-producer Jason Hall for the inside scoop on how Cooper trained to become Kyle, widely regarded as the deadliest sniper in American history.

In order to bulk up 40-plus lbs., Cooper “had a strict, crazy diet,” Hall says. “He was eating about every 55 minutes or something like that, and I want to say it was about 8,000 calories a day.”

“Bradley used his own trainer, who was busting on him. I think he was working out four hours a day for several months,” adds Hall of Cooper’s fitness regimen. “He was determined to do it naturally, he didn’t want to use any hormones or steroids or anything. He was just very systematic about it and took his trainer with him wherever he went.”

Along with the massive intake of food and intense workouts, Hall revealed that Cooper’s preparation also included twice-daily lessons with a vocal coach, as well as several hours spent watching footage of Kyle, whom he studied “over and over again.”

[From People]

When I think about Christian Bale gaining and losing weight for roles, I wonder about the effect on his health. The same goes for Bradley even though he hasn’t (yet) made a habit of the cycle. These actors surely know the risks involved with tweaking their body chemistry. Even though Bradley was committed to gain and lose “naturally,” the process is still difficult on one’s body.

People doesn’t stop with the weight gain discussion. They spoke to a fellow SEAL who gushes over Bradley’s devotion to weapon training and mastery of teacup-sized targets. Hall steps in again to say BCoop isolated “the essence” and “spirtual mentality” of Chris Kyle. No word on whether the fake baby will have an effect on Bradley’s Oscar chances. I still can’t believe Clint Eastwood tossed a plastic baby into a prestige film. Some of you reminded me of Clint’s empty chair speech as a comparison. Thank you.

Here’s BCoop last May at the Met Gala. As I said then, he looked overstuffed in a suit at the height of his Sniper beefiness.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, Pacific Coast News & WENN