“This…. is quite a headshot.”

That’s the title of the email I sent to Lainey this morning, after seeing Bradley Cooper on the cover of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list. Just take a look at the photo.

Is he worthy? Sure. Coops has four Oscar nominations to his name from the past three years… and he's likely to earn a Tony nomination for his terrific work in The Elephant Man too. Plus. Julianne Moore, Amy Schumer (whom I love, but really?) and Kevin Hart also make the cut, alongside the expected dignitaries and politicos.

But can we talk about his photo? Bradley, who was once the Sexiest Man Alive, looks pretty flawed here. His eyes are unfocused, his hair is tussled unsexily…

The Hangover?

Check out the first tweet after TIME senior editor Dan Hirschhorn tweets out this edition of the magazine.

 

 

“I think is not his best picture.”

It’s really not.

The irony here? He looks like THIS – click here.

“Is this you???”


Of course we all remember this scene from Sex and the City – it’s Carrie Bradshaw’s worst nightmare. She’s finally on the cover of New York Magazine, but the catch? They pick an unflattering portrait of her, before she’s “hair and makeup ready” and use the cover line “Single & Fabulous?” … with a question mark. Carrie’s haunted by it for the entire episode, even when making out with “Jake” (Bradley). It’s a shame this video doesn’t embed, since this guest spot also happens to be Bradley’s first on-screen credit… and how he got his SAG card.

Now, it’s his unflattering photo on display for this big honour.

As Bradley says himself at his photoshoot, “It’s a surreal thing to be included in anything that has to do with TIME Magazine, let alone the Time 100 list.” He insists the success of American Sniper ($540-million worldwide!) is bigger than him and is all about the issues he’s helped bring to the forefront for veterans.

Oliver Platt writes a nice profile about him too, citing their 2007 Nip/Tuck guest spot as a meet-cute.

And Coops?

“All I want to do is be as truthful as possible for however long I get to do this.”