Actress Sienna Miller (R) and actor Bradley Cooper arrive for the premiere of the film "American Sniper"
IN PHOTO: Actress Sienna Miller (R) and actor Bradley Cooper arrive for the premiere of the film "American Sniper" in New York, December 15, 2014. Reuters/Carlo Allegri

Bradley Cooper became emotional and “thanked God” after he came to know that he was nominated in the Best Actor category for his portrayal of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in the film “American Sniper.” The actor said his role deserved to get nominated because he feels an emotional connection with the late sniper, on whose true story the film is based on.

Cooper told People magazine in an interview that he would be lying is he said he did not get emotional after seeing his name and Chris's picture “up there.” “I thought, 'Thank God,' because I felt the role merited that," the 40-year-old star is quoted as saying by People. The actor hoped that he did a “good enough job” for the Academy to recognise Chris' story is worthy to be recognised by them.

Getting a nomination for his acting is not new to the actor. Cooper has already been nominated by the Academy Awards earlier for his roles in “American Hustle” and “Silver Lining Playbook.” The American actor also told the magazine that he is interested in helping war veterans on a personal level and is also a part of United Service Organisations (USO) for almost a decade.

The actor said that he had always appreciated war veterans but after doing “American Sniper,” he became aware of the toll the war takes on their families. For him it was a “life-changing experience,” added the actor. Cooper also talked about how many people relate to Chris' story because they felt that his family too had to undergo all the tough situations, just like theirs.

The actor added that Chris too helped a lot of veterans when he got home from Iraq tours and found his purpose of life in doing so. Chris was allegedly shot and killed by a 25-year-old Marine Eddie Ray Routh on Feb 2, 2013 at a shooting range in Texas. Chris' friend Chad Littlefield, who accompanied him to the shooting range, too got killed by Routh that day. Routh was reportedly suffering from post-war depression when he killed them both. His case is under trail in a Texan court.

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