Abbott Elementary is one of the best shows on TV. It’s one of the three network shows that I keep up with every week. The other two are Ghosts (US version) and Survivor, and I am effing STOKED for Elsbeth to start up weekly. Anyway, Abbott has landed some pretty good cameos and guest stars in its three seasons, including Ayo Edebiri, Leslie Odom Jr, Philadelphia Eagles players and, of course, Gritty. Bradley Cooper is the latest actor to appear on the show, in a cameo as himself. Cooper, who grew up just outside of Philadelphia, did the cold open on the episode that aired just after the Oscars were finished. And, according to the cast, he was “lovely” to work with.

The “Maestro” actor stopped by to play himself in the cold open of the “Abbott” episode that aired directly after ABC’s telecast of the 96th Academy Awards. In the scene, a student in Melissa’s (Lisa Ann Walter) class brings Cooper to campus for show and tell.

“Whenever I’m in Philly, you know the deli across the street? That’s my first stop,” the Pennsylvania native says. “My dad used to always take me there. They have the best hoagies in the city.” His second grade friend retorts, “Everybody wanted to take a picture with him, so I figured he was famous.”

In an email, series creator and star Quinta Brunson said, “Bradley was actually incredible. He had a hectic schedule, of course, but was as eager to make it work as we were. We talked about the best creative way to have him join us for a cold open. Since he’s a local (to Philly) it was easy to imagine he was visiting his favorite deli. Besides that, he was lovely on set. Super kind and cool to the cast, crew and kids. He walked down to meet the crew before it was even time for him to film. It was awesome, and it was a joy to act with him.”

Though the scene was obviously taped well before the Oscars, it doesn’t seem the “Abbott Elementary” writers were predicting a win for Cooper. Instead, the scene allowed him a humorously self-deprecating moment on the heels of his much-talked about awards season campaign.

“Oh, I just loved you in ‘The Holdovers.’ It was just so heartwarming,” says Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph).

“It’s ‘The Hangover,’ and no it’s not,” Gregory (Tyler James Williams) corrects.

“Guys, he’s literally in a critically acclaimed film right now,” Janine (Brunson) says, before Melissa adds, “Mhm, ‘Oppenheimer.’”

“Is that the one about Napoleon?” asks Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis).

“I wasn’t in ‘Oppenheimer,’” Cooper says. Ava (Janelle James) asks, “Are you sure? Everybody was in ‘Oppenheimer.’”

The kids also joined in on the fun: “If you’re famous, are you in ‘Spider-Man’?” one student asks. Another jabs, “Shouldn’t your teeth be whiter?” Cooper replies, “They should, but I can’t whiten them because they’re too sensitive.”

Cooper was nominated for the lead actor Oscar for playing legendary composer Leonard Bernstein in Netflix’s “Maestro,” which he also wrote, directed and produced. The film also received nods for best picture, lead actress, original screenplay, makeup and hairstyling, cinematography and sound, but didn’t take home any awards on Sunday.

[From Variety]

I thought the whole cold open was really funny. Bradley always seems thirsty and like he takes himself too seriously, so it was cool that he took a moment to poke fun at himself. There were so many funny lines, too! “Everybody was in Oppenheimer.” LMAO because it really did feel like every single dude in Hollywood was in that movie. I also loved the whole Alias exchange and the Wet Hot American Summer shoutout. I always forget that BCoop was in the movie (but I sure as hell never forget that Christopher Meloni was in it). And he did the Rocky Raccoon voice!

Anyway, it was nice to hear that Bradley was also great to work with on set. Thankfully, no chairs were banned in the making of this episode. Fun fact: Sheryl Lee Ralph revealed that she was actually not on set the day that Bradley filmed his cameo. She was working on another project and the editing team added her in afterwards. That’s really impressive, I genuinely couldn’t tell that she filmed her scene separately. That’s some seamless editing magic right there. Oh, and as a native New Yorker, it’s not a hoagie, it’s a sub, and watching that scene made me want to go find a deli immediately.

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