Bradley Cooper is one of Hollywood's biggest stars. His upcoming film, American Sniper, is creating some serious awards buzz while the reviews of his Broadway performance in The Elephant Man have been positive. It turns out that Cooper has a few other talents, though, including some serious chops as an air guitarist. During a recent visit to The Tonight Show, the actor showed Jimmy Fallon and his audience how well he knows Neil Young's "Down by the River" on the air ax.

Cooper made it clear that his musical talents are not widely known during his hilarious interview with Fallon.

"I play an air guitar," he says in the clip below. "There's one song by Neil Young that I feel like, I don't know if everybody knows this, so I'm proud I know it. It's just the guitar solo of 'Down by the River.'"

Cooper could not explain why he memorized that particular song, but it is obvious that he is a fan. While wearing a ridiculous wig — it is kind of a thing for the pair now — the actor stood up and plucked his invisible Gibson Les Paul, much to the delight of the host and viewers. Roots guitarist Kirk Douglas took over the duties before the show went to a commercial break.

American Sniper recounts the story of the most lethal marksman in U.S. Navy SEAL history, Chris Kyle. The shooter saves multiple lives at war, but the weight of four tours of duty takes its toll when he returns home. The movie is based on Kyle's autobiography. Clint Eastwood directed the flick.

"Star Bradley Cooper does some of his best acting ever here. Bulked up to make himself resemble, with respect to body shape, a large-scale, 9-volt battery, Cooper suppresses the actorly knowingness he's brought to most of his prior screen roles and gives his character here a simultaneous credulousness and edge. He feels like a dangerous guy, but not a malicious one," rogerebert.com wrote about the film.

Join the Discussion