Episode 333 - Oliver Cooper

Oliver Cooper was 24 when he landed the role of Wheeler on Red Oaks, a show that captured a specific moment in American culture—young people having a great time at a country club. Now 30, he's made a $7,000 movie about a 70-year-old street musician with Parkinson's who still believes he's going to make it. On Breaking Bread with Tom Papa, Cooper walks through the strange arc of a career that started with a massive breakout, the deluge of agent attention that followed, and the slow, deliberate process of figuring out what he actually wants to make.

The Project X Hangover

Cooper's first audition ever was for Project X, the 2012 found-footage party movie produced by Todd Phillips. He didn't know what he was doing. In his first audition, he pulled his pants down because he thought the character was on a toilet. "I had my tight white underwear on and I was just doing crazy," he says. "I didn't know what I was doing." He went through nine auditions, did stand-up for Phillips, and booked the role of Costa.