Actor Bradley Cooper shares a harrowing story about being held at knifepoint in New York City in 2019. Ever since his breakout role in the hit 2009 comedy The Hangover, Cooper has been showcasing his talent and versatility across various genres. His Academy Award-nominated performances include a recent divorcee suffering from bipolar disorder in Silver Linings Playbook, an FBI agent in American Hustle, the deadliest marksman in US military history in American Sniper, and a musician struggling with addiction in A Star Is Born.

Cooper is also well known for voicing Rocket Raccoon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a role which he will be reprising for 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder and 2023's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The actor also has a few intriguing roles lined up in Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley and Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza. Del Toro's follow-up to his Best Picture-winning film, The Shape of Water, centers on an ambitious carny (Cooper) who crosses paths with a corrupt psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) even more dangerous than himself. In Anderson's latest film, Cooper portrays a real-life film producer named Jon Peters.

While Cooper usually garners attention for his work as a film actor and producer, he is now making headlines for an unfortunate encounter he had with a knife-wielding assailant in 2019. The actor shared the story during a recent appearance on the Armchair Expert Podcast (via E! News) promoting his two upcoming films, detailing the harrowing experience from the moment he was held at knifepoint to his intense getaway. Read how Cooper recalled the experience below:

I used to walk around New York City all the time with these [headphones] on—this was pre-pandemic—I was on the subway [at] 11:45 to pick Lea downtown at Russian school and I got held up at knifepoint. It was pretty insane. I realized 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 s--t, and I turned. I looked down and I see a knife. 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 [and] took my phone out. I took a photo of him and then I chased him up the stairs.

Thankfully, Cooper nor anyone else was seriously harmed as a result of the incident, and he was able to safely pick up his 4-year-old daughter, Lea, from her lessons. Though the actor didn't reveal what eventually happened to the culprit, Cooper was able to take a few photographs of him and show them to police officers that he flagged down in the street. As of now, 2 years after the incident occurred, it's unclear if the assailant was ever caught.

Cooper's frightening experience is just the latest an example of the danger that celebrities face when in public. Though the actor admits his "guard was down" when the attempted attack occurred, recognizable movie stars do face increased risk when in public, which often forces them to wear sunglasses and hat in an attempt to disguise themselves, like Cooper did, or employ the services of a bodyguard. Luckily, everyone got out of this incident unscathed.