--- description: The actor added some 40 pounds of muscle for the Clint Eastwood-directed film out Christmas Day title: Bradley Cooper Ate Every 55 Minutes to Bulk up for 'American Sniper' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8ff0e2ffd1cfb5d/698768bfcd1bba989d6f385f/450093934.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Bradley Cooper Ate Every 55 Minutes to Bulk Up for _American Sniper_  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Nov 13, 2014 10:19 PM CUT  Bradley Cooper and Clint Eastwood on the set of 'American Sniper' in Malibu, California on June 4, 2014 in Los Angeles. Bradley Cooper and Clint Eastwood on the set of 'American Sniper' in Malibu, California on June 4, 2014 in Los Angeles.TSM/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Nov 13, 2014 10:19 PM CUT Anyone who has seen the _Hangover_ movies knows Bradley Cooper was already in great shape. But in order to play the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history in _American Sniper_, he needed to [add](http://www.people.com/article/bradley-cooper-american-sniper-chris-kyle-workout-ripped-training "undefined") 40 pounds of muscle. “He was eating about every 55 minutes or something like that, and I want to say it was about 8,000 calories a day,” the film’s writer-producer Jason Hall recently told _People_. The actor also worked out four hours a day for several months and trained with a Navy SEAL sniper to learn to shoot. _American Sniper_ follows the real-life story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who completed four tours in Iraq and earned the nickname “Legend” before being [killed by a fellow vet](http://nation.time.com/2013/02/07/killer-healer-victim/ "undefined") in 2013\. It’s directed by Clint Eastwood and hits theaters on Christmas Day. \[[_People_](http://www.people.com/article/bradley-cooper-american-sniper-chris-kyle-workout-ripped-training "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3584561/bradley-cooper-diet-american-sniper/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3584561/bradley-cooper-diet-american-sniper/"},"headline":"Bradley Cooper Ate Every 55 Minutes to Bulk Up for American Sniper","datePublished":"2014-11-13T22:19:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:26:02.327Z","description":"He plays the most lethal sniper in American military history","url":"https://time.com/3584561/bradley-cooper-diet-american-sniper/","keywords":["movies","celebrities","bradley cooper","health","Actor","People"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8ff0e2ffd1cfb5d/698768bfcd1bba989d6f385f/450093934.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8ff0e2ffd1cfb5d/698768bfcd1bba989d6f385f/450093934.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Bradley Cooper and Clint Eastwood on the set of 'American Sniper' in Malibu, California on June 4, 2014 in Los Angeles.","caption":"Bradley Cooper and Clint Eastwood on the set of 'American Sniper' in Malibu, California on June 4, 2014 in Los Angeles.","creditText":"TSM/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3584561/bradley-cooper-diet-american-sniper/","name":"Bradley Cooper Ate Every 55 Minutes to Bulk Up for American Sniper"}}]}] ```