Scott Cooper (director)

Scott Cooper
Cooper at the 25th Independent Spirit Awards in March 2010
Born	(1970-04-20) April 20, 1970 (age 46) Abingdon, Virginia, U.S.
Alma mater	Hampden–Sydney College
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter, director, producer
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Jocelyne Cooper
Children	2

Scott Cooper (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is known for writing, directing and producing the 2009 film Crazy Heart starring Jeff Bridges. The film, released by Fox Searchlight Pictures, has received a number of accolades, including awards presented by the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Independent Spirit Awards and by the Writers Guild of America. He received his first film credits as an actor in projects like Gods and Generals and the TV miniseries Broken Trail.

Cooper was born in Abingdon, Virginia. He is a 1988 graduate of Abingdon High School. Cooper trained as an actor at Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City. He received both his undergraduate degree in 1992 and his Doctor of Humane Letters in 2014 from Hampden–Sydney College in Hampden Sydney, Virginia.

Cooper is married and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jocelyne Cooper; the couple have two children.

At one point, Barry Levinson was set to direct a film based on Whitey Bulger, the Boston crime boss. In January 2014, Cooper became attached to re-write and direct the film, Black Mass, which was released in 2015. The film was based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill, and was described as the "true story of Billy Bulger, Whitey Bulger, FBI agent John Connolly and the FBI's witness protection program that was created by J. Edgar Hoover."